Polish banks look set to tighten the lending criteria for all types of loans in the second quarter, according to a central bank survey of the heads of banks’ loan committees.

The biggest tightening could hit consumer loans due to an expected deterioration in economic conditions, and an increase in the share of non-performing loans in loan portfolios.

Lenders are also expected to tighten the loan criteria for all types of companies, especially for SMEs, which have already been the subject of a more rigorous lending procedure introduced in the first quarter.

Demand for corporate credit is expected to fall in the case of long-term loans, while an increase in demand for short-term loans is expected, mainly from large firms.

For housing loans, banks also expect to tighten the criteria after some easing in Q1, while demand is expected to rise after some growth was recorded in the first four months of the year.

The survey was conducted in early April among 23 banks whose aggregate share in enterprises and households’ liabilities constitutes some 89 percent of the banking sector portfolio.

The questions were addressed directly at the heads of the banks’ loan committees.