ECB Chief Economist Philip R. Lane: AI Financing Accounts for a Quarter of Corporate Loan Growth

According to Jin10, ECB Chief Economist Philip R. Lane said in an interview with the Financial Times on Friday that AI financing currently accounts for about one-quarter of growth in euro-area corporate bank lending. Credit creation across the euro area's 21 member countries has remained more resilient than expected despite higher interest rates and the negative effects of oil-price shocks. Lane said annual corporate loan growth would be 3% without financing demand from AI, rather than the current 4%, although the AI industry still accounts for a relatively small share of Europe's economy. He said about one-quarter of this year's credit growth came from AI, even though AI-related industries do not make up one-quarter of the overall economy. Lane reiterated that he would prefer companies to obtain more equity financing rather than rely on debt, so that homegrown AI companies could grow faster.