Monetary developments in the euro area: December 2021

28 January 2022

• Annual growth rate of broad monetary aggregate M3 decreased to 6.9% in December 2021 from 7.4% in November (revised from 7.3%)
• Annual growth rate of narrower monetary aggregate M1, comprising currency in circulation and overnight deposits, decreased to 9.8% in December from 10.0% in November
• Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households stood at 4.1% in December, compared with 4.2% in November
• Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 4.2% in December from 2.9% in November

Components of the broad monetary aggregate M3

The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 decreased to 6.9% in December 2021 from 7.4% in November, averaging 7.3% in the three months up to December. The components of M3 showed the following developments. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits, decreased to 9.8% in December from 10.0% in November. The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) stood at -1.5% in December, compared with -1.4% in November. The annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) decreased to 6.4% in December from 12.2% in November.

Data for monetary aggregates

Looking at the components' contributions to the annual growth rate of M3, the narrower aggregate M1 contributed 7.0 percentage points (down from 7.1 percentage points in November), short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) contributed -0.4 percentage point (down from -0.3 percentage point) and marketable instruments (M3-M2) contributed 0.3 percentage point (down from 0.6 percentage point).

From the perspective of the holding sectors of deposits in M3, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by households decreased to 5.5% in December from 6.0% in November, while the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-financial corporations increased to 8.5% in December from 7.9% in November. Finally, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-monetary financial corporations (excluding insurance corporations and pension funds) decreased to 13.3% in December from 15.5% in November.

Counterparts of the broad monetary aggregate M3

As a reflection of changes in the items on the monetary financial institution (MFI) consolidated balance sheet other than M3 (counterparts of M3), the annual growth rate of M3 in December 2021 can be broken down as follows: credit to general government contributed 4.6 percentage points (up from 4.4 percentage points in November), credit to the private sector contributed 3.9 percentage points (up from 3.7 percentage points), longer-term financial liabilities contributed 0.3 percentage point (up from 0.2 percentage point), net external assets contributed -0.8 percentage point (as in the previous month), and the remaining counterparts of M3 contributed -1.0 percentage points (down from -0.2 percentage point).

Data for contribution of the M3 counterparts to the annual growth rate of M3

Credit to euro area residents

As regards the dynamics of credit, the annual growth rate of total credit to euro area residents increased to 6.1% in December 2021 from 5.8% in the previous month. The annual growth rate of credit to general government increased to 11.3% in December from 10.8% in November, while the annual growth rate of credit to the private sector increased to 3.9% in December from 3.7% in November.

The annual growth rate of adjusted loans to the private sector (i.e. adjusted for loan sales, securitisation and notional cash pooling) increased to 4.1% in December from 3.7% in November. Among the borrowing sectors, the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households stood at 4.1% in December, compared with 4.2% in November, while the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 4.2% in December from 2.9% in November.

Data for adjusted loans to the private sector

Notes:

• Data in this press release are adjusted for seasonal and end-of-month calendar effects, unless stated otherwise.
• "Private sector" refers to euro area non-MFIs excluding general government.
• Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release and in annex tables lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Figures shown in annex tables are a snapshot of the data as at the time of the current release.