.gif)
German companies say bank lending policies have turned tighter, raising hurdles to economic recovery, the Ifo research institute reported on Monday.
Ifo's Credit Constraint Indicator found that 42.9 percent of companies polled assessed bank lending policies as restrictive in November, up from 41.7 percent in October when the figure had fallen for a third month in a row.
In the manufacturing sector, more than half of large companies reported increased constraints, but the number was smaller for small- and medium-sized companies.
Companies in the construction and wholesale/retail sectors also said credit constraints had grown.
"The financing situation of the firms remains critical and poses a risk for the economic recovery" in Europe's biggest economy, Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn was quoted by a statement as saying.
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has pressed commercial banks to pass government and central bank aid on to the broader economy, saying on November 20: "The financial sector must not forget that it is to serve the economy and not the other way around."
