Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for almost half of all bank loans to businesses in the Netherlands, according to new figures being released by DNB for the first time today. However, SMEs often pay a slightly higher interest rate than other businesses.
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As of March 2026, banks in the Netherlands had lent a total of €340 billion to the Dutch business sector. Just under half of this amount was extended to SMEs, and that share has remained stable for some time. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly active in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality and construction.
Sectors with a relatively high proportion of SMEs often pay slightly higher interest rates. This may be due to the smaller credit amounts extended to SMEs and the information gap that banks face when dealing with such companies, which makes risk assessments trickier. SMEs pay an average interest rate of around 3.6% on their outstanding loans, whereas the rate for larger firms was around 3.1% in March 2026.
At De Nederlandsche Bank, we independently compile statistics on the Dutch financial sector and economy. This article is based on these statistics. More information on our statistics and all dashboards can be found on our Statistics homepage.
Apart from the distinction between SMEs and large firms, lending volumes also vary significantly across different sectors. Around €149 billion of bank lending to the Dutch business sector has been extended to companies active in real estate, mainly housing associations. The Netherlands is not alone in this regard: the banking sector in other euro area countries also extends a relatively large amount of credit to such customers.
The Dutch wholesale and retail sectors (€37 billion) and agriculture (€21 billion) also tend to borrow heavily. A significant amount of credit is also extended to companies active in the ‘professional, scientific and technical activities' category (€32 billion). This mainly concerns the head offices of organisations that have an administrative function or redistribute funds within their own organisation.
The interest rates that businesses pay on their outstanding loans have remained relatively stable for some time, averaging 3.4% over the past twelve months.
However, there are clear underlying differences across the various sectors. For example, companies in the real estate sector pay comparatively lower interest rates, as the property used as collateral reduces the risk of losses for the banks. Organisations that may have links to the public sector, such as water companies and waste management firms, also tend to pay lower interest rates. However, factors such as sensitivity to economic cycles, other industry-specific characteristics and the financial products used can also influence interest rates.
On the other hand, interest rates are higher for companies that are more sensitive to economic fluctuations, such as businesses operating in the hospitality, arts, sports or recreation sectors.
DNB has updated the table on bank lending by sector, now publishing new figures monthly. Whereas the previous quarterly figures were based on reports from financial institutions, the new table is compiled by combining various existing sources from DNB and Statistics Netherlands. This makes the figures more representative and ensures they align more closely with other statistics. The data also follow the new sector classification introduced by Eurostat. Furthermore, banks are no longer required to submit quarterly reports, thus reducing their administrative burden.
Banks’ AnaCredit reports are a key source for DNB. Banks provide monthly updates on their corporate loan portfolios in these reports at the level of individual loans and individual borrowers. DNB has been collecting these figures since 2018 as part our tasks as a central bank and supervisory authority.
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