Loans for House Purchases in France: Un Grand Problème?

European markets were generally unfazed by seemingly ho-hum economic data released today.  The annual growth rate of money supply (M3) in the euro area rose slightly in May while consumer prices remained subdued:



To be sure, most of the components of M3 were more positive-- and by that we mean less negative on a year-over-year basis.  Notably, however, loans to households fell by €43 billion (before adjustments for sales and securitizations), primarily as a result of the €39 billion drop in loans for house purchases (light blue line is year-over-year change):



This, the largest drop on record, can be attributed to a significant decline in lending for house purchases in just one country: France.