# Euro-Area Banks Report Record Net Deterioration in Retail-Funding Access

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/43091
Published: 2026-10-29T00:19:20.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-29T00:19:20.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The ECB characterized the deterioration as moderate. Banks also expect digital assets to weigh on retail funding over the next 12 months while supporting business strategies.

Euro-area banks’ net reading for access to retail funding reached 9% in the third quarter, the highest in the European Central Bank’s survey series, showing record pressure even as the central bank described conditions as moderate.

The net balance climbed from 3% in Q2 and exceeded the previous peak of 7% in Q3 2023; tracking began in 2011. The ECB released the survey Oct. 27 after responses were collected from 159 banks between Sept. 21 and Oct. 6, a 100% response rate.

That 9% is a net survey balance: the share of banks noting worse access minus the share noting improvement. It is not a 9% decline in deposits. Retail funding includes deposits from households and nonfinancial corporations, alongside other retail funding instruments. The reading captures banks’ assessment of funding access rather than the amount in customer accounts.

Funding access also weakened in money markets and debt securities, with net deterioration balances of 5% and 6%, respectively. Access to securitization was broadly unchanged at 1%.

For Q4, banks expect a 6% net deterioration in retail-funding access and a similar 6% balance for money markets. They expect deterioration of 11% for debt securities and 3% for securitization; these are forecasts, not Q4 results.

The survey included its first annual question on digital assets. Over the prior 12 months, banks assessed the effect on business strategy as net positive 2% and the effect on their broader financial situation as neutral. For the next year, they expect a net positive 12% effect on strategy and a net negative 5% effect on retail funding.

The ECB broadly groups digital assets into unbacked crypto-assets, tokenized assets and stablecoins; Bitcoin (BTC) falls within the first group. The survey does not identify which category banks expect to affect funding or establish that digital assets caused the Q3 deterioration.

Credit standards tightened on net for business loans, with a 9% balance, and consumer credit, with a 14% balance. Standards for home-purchase loans were unchanged. Banks identified higher risk perceptions and reduced risk tolerance as the main factors behind tighter standards.

The ECB’s next monetary-policy decision is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. ET (1315 UTC) Thursday, Oct. 29, followed by a press conference at 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 UTC).