FRANKFURT, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Growth in bank ‌lending to ‌euro zone companies and ​households accelerated in July, the first full month after ‌the European ⁠Central Bank raised interest rates ⁠for the first time in nearly ​three ​years, ​ECB data ‌showed on Thursday.

The annual growth rate of loans to non-financial corporations was 4.4% ‌in July, ​up from ​4.0% ​in June.

Lending ‌to households grew ​by ​3.1%, up from a rate of ​3.0% ‌in June.

(Writing by ​Ludwig Burger;Editing by ​Francesco Canepa)