Statistics 30 April 2025 10:00 AM

Corporate loan drawdowns picked up from last year

In March 2025, Finnish non-financial corporations (excl. housing corporations) drew over twice as much as in the same period a year earlier. The average interest rate on new corporate-loans fell by from March last year.

 

In March 2025, Finnish non-financial corporations[1] (excl. housing corporations) drew down a total of EUR 2.4 billion in loans from banks operating in Finland. This was over twice as much as in the same period a year earlier and 36% more than the March average in 2011–2024. In March 2025, the average interest rate on new corporate loans was 4.33%, compared to 5.55% in the same period a year earlier.

The average interest rate on new corporate-loans fell by 1.22 percentage points from March last year. Large new corporate loans experienced a steeper interest rate decline than smaller ones. The average interest rate on small corporate loans of up to EUR 50,000 decreased by 0.4 percentage points from March last year, to 6.85%. Meanwhile, the average interest rate on new corporate loans of over EUR 50,000 and up to 250,000 was 4.88%, having declined by 1.07 percentage points. The average interest rate on the largest loans of over EUR 1 million was 4.13% in March, representing a decline of 1.21 percentage points year-on-year.

In March 2025, the corporate loan stock[2] amounted to EUR 61.6 billion. Despite the higher drawdown volumes in March, the stock of corporate loans contracted by -2.4% year-on-year. Month-on-month, however, the stock expanded by over EUR 300 million in March 2025.

 

Corporate loan drawdowns grew year-on-year in the first quarter

 

Loans

Drawdowns of new housing loans by Finnish households in March 2025 amounted to EUR 1.2 billion, which was EUR 230 million more than in the same period a year earlier. Buy-to-let housing loans accounted for EUR 130 million of the new housing loan drawdowns. The average interest rate on new housing loans declined from February, to 3.06% in March. At the end of March 2025, the housing loan stock totalled EUR 105.5 billion, and its year-on-year growth was -0.5%. Buy-to-let housing loans accounted for EUR 8.9 billion of the housing loan stock. At the end of March, the household loan stock included EUR 17.6 billion of consumer credit and EUR 17.7 billion of other loans.

In March, Finnish housing corporations drew down EUR 670 million of new loans[3]. The stock of loans granted to housing corporations amounted to EUR 45.4 billion.

 

Deposits

At the end of March 2025, the stock of Finnish households’ deposits totalled EUR 112.1 billion, and the average interest rate on these deposits was 1.06%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 68.4 billion and deposits with an agreed maturity for EUR 14.9 billion of the total deposit stock. In March, new deposit agreements with an agreed maturity made by Finnish households amounted to EUR 1.3 billion. The average interest rate on these new term deposits was 2.45%.

 

Loans and deposits to Finland, preliminary data

  January, EUR million February, EUR million March, EUR million March, 12-month change1, % Average interest rate, %
Loans to households, stock 140,908 140,746 140,816 -0.3 3.88
    - of which housing loans 105,626 105,571 105,544 -0.5 3.31
    - of which buy-to-let mortgages 8,820 8,844 8,874   3.43
Loans to non-financial corporations2, stock  106,442 106,555 106,985 -0.2 3.78
Deposits by households, stock 111,175 111,385 112,068 2.8 1.06
           
Households' new drawdowns of housing loans 1,002 1,10 1,225   3.06
    - of which buy-to-let mortgages 104 111 126   3.16

* Includes loans and deposits in all currencies to residents in Finland. The statistical releases of the Bank of Finland up to January 2021, as well as those of the ECB, present loans and deposits in euro to euro area residents and also include non-profit institutions serving households. For these reasons, the figures in this table differ from those in the aforementioned releases.
1 Rate of change has been calculated from monthly differences in levels adjusted for classification and other revaluation changes.  
2 Non-financial corporations also include housing corporations.

 

The next news release on money and banking statistics will be published at 10:00 on 2 June 2025.

 

Related statistical data and graphs are also available on the Bank of Finland website: https://www.suomenpankki.fi/en/statistics.

 

[1] Excl. overdrafts and credit card credit.

[2] Excl. housing corporations.

[3] Excl. overdrafts and credit card credit.

Further information

Usva Topo, tel. +358 9 183 2056, email: usva.topo(at)bof.fi.

Markus Aaltonen, tel. +358 9 183 2395, email: markus.aaltonen(at)bof.fi.