Euro zone bank lending to businesses halved in August to €11 billion from €22 billion in July and €27 billion in June, the European Central Bank said Friday. The decline was a sign that higher borrowing costs following the ECB’s decision to raise its key interest rate were hindering investment. Annual business-lending growth slowed to 4.2% from 4.4% in July, while household loan growth held at 3.1% year-on-year and household lending stood at €7.26 trillion. Overall private-sector credit growth, covering households and non-financial corporations, accelerated to 4.3% from 4.1%, its highest level since February 2023. M3, a broad measure of money circulating in the euro zone, rose to 3.5% from 3.4%, matching economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll.