Europe’s Rebound: The Return of Bank Credit Expansion

For most of the last decade, Europe felt like it was stuck in neutral, held back by governments reluctant to open their wallets and banks still licking their wounds from past crises. Now, the gears are starting to shift: a fresh wave of fiscal expansion, led by Germany, is hitting the system at the same time banks are raring to lend. Throw in the newfound health of lenders in Southern Europe—a region once defined by eye-watering bad debt—and it’s clear there’s more to this region’s growth story than a little budget loosening.