How Central Banks Are Using the Bank Lending Survey

Monetary Policy Explained with Fexingo: Central Banks, Money Supply, and Interest Rates · Jul 9, 2026 · 7m · transcript

For episode 100 of Monetary Policy Explained with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most powerful yet underappreciated tools central bankers use to read the economy: the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, or bank lending survey. Instead of guessing what banks are doing, central banks ask them directly. Lucas breaks down how the Federal Reserve's quarterly survey captured tightening credit standards in 2023 before GDP data showed any slowdown, and how the ECB's 2024 survey revealed a dramatic drop in loan demand that foreshadowed the eurozone's mild recession. Luna…