2025 Q2: Quarterly decision of the National Bank of Belgium on the countercyclical buffer rate (1 April 2025): 1.0%

Quarterly decision of the National Bank of Belgium on the countercyclical buffer rate for 2025Q2: 1.0 % Pursuant to Art. 5 §2 Annex IV to the Banking Law, the National Bank of Belgium has decided to keep the countercyclical buffer rate for exposures in Belgium at 1.0 %. Justification

1. The countercyclical capital buffer is a macroprudential instrument designed to mitigate cyclical
   systemic risks and to counter pro-cyclicality in lending. Its objective is to support the sustainable provision of credit through the cycle by strengthening the resilience of banks. In particular, capital buffers are imposed whenever there is an increase in cyclical systemic risks (i.e. with excessive growth in lending), so that these additional requirements can be relaxed when the cycle turns and the risks start to decline. If risks emerge – in a situation of financial stress for instance – a decision can be taken to release the buffer instantly in order to give the banks some extra breathing space and thus put them in a better position to absorb losses and keep up their level of lending when the economic and financial environment is vulnerable. The countercyclical buffer rate, expressed as a percentage of banks’ risk-weighted assets, is generally between 0 and 2.5 %, but can be set higher when justified by the underlying risk. It should be noted that the countercyclical capital buffer is only one of the macroprudential instruments available to the National Bank of Belgium for achieving its mission of contributing to the stability of the financial system.
2. Pursuant to Article 5 of Annex IV to the Law of 25 April 2014 on the legal status and supervision of
   credit institutions, the National Bank of Belgium sets each quarter the countercyclical buffer rate applicable to credit exposures to counterparties located on Belgian territory on the basis of one or more reference indicators that reflect the credit cycle and the risks stemming from excessive credit growth in Belgium, and that account for the specific elements of the national economy. These indicators shall include the deviation of the credit-to-GDP ratio from its long-term trend (the credit￾to-GDP gap), accounting for the change in volumes of credit granted on Belgian territory and the evolution of Belgian GDP, the recommendations issued by the ESRB, and any other variable that the National Bank of Belgium deems relevant to capture cyclical systemic risk.
3. The National Bank of Belgium sets the countercyclical buffer rate pursuant to its policy strategy
   regarding the countercyclical capital buffer. 1 In line with the Basel III framework and the ESRB Recommendation of 18 June 2014 on guidance for setting countercyclical buffer rates, the quarterly decision on the countercyclical buffer rate is partially based on a ‘buffer guide’ derived from the credit-to-GDP gap. 2 Given the specific features of the domestic financial system and statistical properties of the credit series monitored, the National Bank of Belgium sets the credit-to-GDP variable on the basis of resident bank loans. The quarterly decision on the countercyclical buffer rate also takes into account additional macrofinancial indicators, including broader credit measures.
4. On 31 August 2023, the National Bank of Belgium published its decision of 7 July 2023 to set the
   countercyclical capital buffer rate for Belgian exposures at 0.5% as from 1 April 2024, i.e. six months after announcing the rate increase, and at 1.0% starting on 1 October 2024, i.e. 12 months after the announcement. The Bank had considered that the uncertain economic environment facing the financial sector following the sudden and rapid hike in interest rates constitutes an exceptional circumstance that justifies setting the countercyclical buffer rate at 0.5% as from 1 April 2024, less than twelve months after the date on which the rate increase was first announced.
5. On 18 March 2025, the National Bank of Belgium has decided to maintain the countercyclical capital
   buffer rate for Belgian exposures at 1%. The credit and residential property cycles are only gradually 1 "Setting the countercyclical buffer rate in Belgium: a policy strategy". 2 The buffer guide is the result of the credit-to-GDP gap being mapped into a benchmark buffer rate, as specified in the ESRB Recommendation of 18 June 2014 on guidance for setting countercyclical buffer rates. The benchmark buffer rate equals 0 % for credit-to-GDP gap levels up to 2 percentage points. When the credit-to-GDP gap exceeds 2 percentage points, the benchmark buffer rate increases linearly, reaching its maximum level of 2.5 % for credit-to-GDP gap levels of 10 percentage points and higher.

picking up again after having experienced an orderly slowdown over the last two years. The Belgian financial sector has, meanwhile, maintained a strong financial position of late. However, the National Bank of Belgium has determined that an additional capital reserve remains necessary. Several corporate sectors continue to face challenges following the substantial increase in interest rates that has occurred since the beginning of 2022, while the macro-financial environment remains vulnerable to spillovers from major geopolitical developments and the associated uncertainty. In this context, Belgian banks may still potentially face a significant and unexpected increase in credit losses in the near future, in certain sub-segments of their loan portfolios, in which case the CCyB could be (partly) released, if necessary, to help banks absorb the shock in an orderly way.
6. Countercyclical capital buffer decisions are revisited each quarter, in accordance with European
regulations and the National Bank of Belgium’s macroprudential powers under the 2014 Banking Act.

Table 1: Key indicators 1
Variable Unit Latest period Value
Non-financial private sector credit cycle (resident bank loans) Preferred credit-to-GDP gap % GDP 2024 Q4 -6.8 Households % GDP 2024 Q4 -6.2 Non-financial corporations % GDP 2024 Q4 -0.6 CCyB guide related to preferred credit gap 2 % RWA 2024 Q4 0.0 Standardised credit-to-GDP gap % GDP 2024 Q3 -35.81 CCyB guide related to standardized credit gap 2 % RWA 2024 Q3 0.0 Bank loan growth y-o-y % 2024 M12 2.8 Households y-o-y % 2024 M12 1.8 Non-financial corporations y-o-y % 2024 M12 4.3 p.m. Credit-to-GDP ratio 3 % GDP 2024 Q4 77.9 Non-financial private sector resilience Debt-to-GDP ratio % GDP 2024 Q3 116.3 Households % GDP 2024 Q3 57.4 Non-financial corporations % GDP 2024 Q3 59.0 Net financial assets % GDP 2024 Q3 135.7 Financial and assets markets Equity prices, nominal (Euro Stoxx 50) y-o-y % 2025 M01 12.9 Price-earnings ratio (Euro Stoxx 50) 4 – 2025 M01 15.4 House prices, nominal y-o-y % 2024 Q3 0.5 House prices, real y-o-y % 2024 Q2 -1.6 10-year government bond yield % points/y 2025 M01 3.1 Bank lending rate on mortgage loans to households % points/y 2024 M11 3.0 Bank lending rate on loans to non-financial corporations % points/y 2024 M11 3.5 Banking sector resilience CET 1 capital ratio % 2024 Q3 14.7 Equity-to-total assets ratio % 2024 Q3 7.0 Loan-to-deposit ratio % 2024 Q3 94.4 External imbalances Current account % GDP 2024 Q2 0.5 Net international investment position % GDP 2024 Q2 60.1 Asset quality NPL ratio Belgian non-financial corporations % total loans 2024 Q3 3.50 Belgian households % total loans 2024 Q3 1.24 Forbearance ratio Belgian non-financial corporations % total loans 2024 Q3 1.83 Belgian households % total loans 2024 Q3 1.06 Loan loss ratio 5 Consolidated, including interbank loans b.p. 2024 11.3 Non-consolidated, excluding interbank loans b.p. 2024 13.4 Sources: Thomson Reuters, Refinitiv, NBB. 1 Monthly averages for daily data. Data are shown end of quarter (March, June, September, December) or for the latest month available. 2 CCyB guides are expressed in percentage of risk-weighted assets.

3 Outstanding amounts of loans granted by resident monetary financial institutions to households and non-financial corporations, including those securitized, in percentage of GDP. 4 Price earnings (P/E) ratio is a trailing (12 months) P/E ratio. 5 The loan loss ratio is the net flow of new impairments for credit losses, expressed as a percentage of the total stock of loans (one basis point is one-hundredth of one per cent).

STATISTICAL ANNEX
Sources: Thomson Reuters, Refinitiv, NBB.

STATISTICAL ANNEX (cont.)
Sources: Thomson Reuters, Refinitiv, NBB.

STATISTICAL ANNEX (cont.)
Source: NBB.