In February 2013 the stock of student loans granted by credit institutions operating in Finland amounted to EUR 1.6 bn. The average interest rate on the stock was 1.61%, which was the lowest level ever. New drawdowns of student loans totalled EUR 12 m in February. The average interest rate on these was 1.34%, down by 0.9 percentage point on February 2012. In Sweden the government sets the interest rate on student loans at the beginning of each year. This year the interest rate is 1.3%. According to data by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA), about 37% of all students entitled to financial aid for students draw out a student loan in Finland, compared to 70% in Sweden.
Loans
Households’ new drawdowns of housing loans amounted to EUR 1.3 bn in February 2013, which is EUR 0.1 bn less than a year earlier. The average interest rate on new housing-loan drawdowns was 2.03%, up by 0.06 percentage point on January. At end-February the stock of euro-denominated housing loans was EUR 87 bn and the average interest rate on the stock was 1.56%. The annual growth rate of the housing loan stock moderated further in February, to 5.4%. At end-February household credit comprised EUR 13 bn in consumer credit and EUR 15 bn in other loans. Student loans accounted for 11% of other loans.
New drawdowns of loans to non-financial corporations (excl. overdrafts and credit card credit) amounted to EUR 2.6 bn in February, which is about EUR 0.6 bn more than in February 2012. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns fell by 0.22 percentage point from January, to 1.22%. At end-February the stock of euro-denominated loans to non-financial corporations was EUR 64 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 16 bn. The annual growth rate of the corporate loan stock declined slightly from January – by 0.1 percentage point – to 4.1%.
Deposits
At end-February the stock of household deposits amounted to EUR 82 bn. The average interest rate on the stock was 0.64%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 48 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 19 bn of the total deposit stock. In February households concluded EUR 1.3 bn of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity. The average interest rate on these fell to 1.12%, from 1.14% in January.
Notes:
MFIs comprise all monetary financial institutions operating in Finland.
Loans and deposits comprise all euro-denominated loans and deposits vis-à-vis the euro area as a whole, with countries other than Finland accounting for a very small share of total volumes.
Key figures of Finnish MFIs' loans and deposits, preliminary data
| December, EUR million |
January, EUR million |
EUR million |
February, 12-month change1, % |
Average interest rate, % | |
| Loans to households2, stock | 114.798 | 114.718 | 114.835 | 4.5 | 1.95 |
| - of which housing loans | 86.346 | 86.364 | 86.535 | 5.4 | 1.56 |
| Loans to non-financial corporations2, stock | 63.282 | 63.370 | 63.973 | 4.1 | 1.91 |
| Deposits by households2, stock | 82.378 | 81.859 | 81.701 | 0,1 |
0.64 |
| Households' new drawdowns of housing loans | 1.254 | 1.108 | 1.282 | – | 2.03 |
1 Rate of change has been calculated from monthly differences in levels adjusted for classification and other revaluation changes.
2 Households also include non-profit institutions serving households; non-financial corporations also include housing corporations.
- Euro-denominated deposits and loans of euro area residents: stock, 12 month rate of change and average interest rate
- Euro-denominated loans and deposits of Finnish households
- New business on loans and new drawdowns of household loans
- Finnish contribution to the euro area monetary aggregates and their main counterparts
- Analytical accounts of the banking sector (MFIs) in Finland
For further information, please contact:
Essi Tamminen, tel. +358 10 831 2395, email: essi.tamminen(at)bof.fi
Jaakko Suni, tel. +358 10 831 2454, email: jaakko.suni(at)bof.fi
The next news release will be published at 1 pm on 30 April 2013.
Related statistical data and graphs are also available on the Bank of Finland website:
http://www.suomenpankki.fi/link/2331b6266da3492f832ec75e0f654bd9.aspx?epslanguage=en.