In order to enhance the understanding of bank lending behaviour, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank launched its ‘Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices’ (the ‘Lending Survey’ in short) in the spring of 2003. The Lending Survey was modelled on the Federal Reserve Board’s survey of the same title. We adopted some special features of the European Central Bank’s lending survey („ECB Survey of banking lending in the euro area”) launched meanwhile for appropriate harmonisation purposes. The survey was conducted semi-annually between 2003 and 2008, and has been conducted quarterly since 2009.
The aim of the Lending Survey is to expand the range of information available on lending through other data services – primarily with qualitative information. In line with international practice, the survey primarily asks about the missing credit supply and demand elements and the factors affecting them, the majority of which can only be interpreted with the help of qualitative questions. Since the first survey in 2008, we have also asked about the development of risk factors (default rate, loss given default). The survey, which consists of a corporate and household (and municipality from 2008 to 2014) section, involves the senior loan officers of banks with the largest market share.
The results of the survey can be utilised in a wide range of fields. The primary objective of the Lending Survey is to provide a more accurate assessment of the possible risks to financial stability. For example, it can be of great assistance in the timely recognition of a lending boom or a credit crunch, the two extreme states of bank lending. The Lending Survey also supports central bank monetary policy decision-making by contributing to the understanding of the real economic impacts of monetary policy processes. Finally, it contributes to the expansion of the scope of applied and academic research on bank lending.
The MNB conducts each survey within a month following the reference quarter and publishes the aggregated results, the related analysis and set of charts on its website in the second month.