Vehicle loans granted in low volumes in the first quarter of 2026

Other financial institutions^[1] granted new vehicle loans to Finnish households worth EUR 443 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is 31% less than in the corresponding period a year earlier. The amount is the lowest recorded for the first quarter since the statistics began at the end of 2020. A year earlier, in the first quarter of 2025, other financial institutions granted new vehicle loans in the amount of EUR 644 million.

By contrast, credit institutions (banks) operating in Finland granted new vehicle loans worth EUR 604 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is slightly more than in the corresponding period a year earlier (EUR 574 million). Taken together, other financial institutions and banks granted new vehicle loans worth EUR 1.05 billion in the first quarter, which is 14% less than in the corresponding period a year earlier. In the years 2022–2025, the first quarter has on average accounted for one quarter of the full-year vehicle loan granting by both other financial institutions and banks. In recent years, the banking sector’s share of vehicle financing has grown significantly as a result of mergers^[2].

The average interest rate on new vehicle loans granted by other financial institutions was 4.30% in the first quarter. The average interest rate rose from the previous quarter but was slightly lower than a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average interest rate was 4.07% and in the first quarter of 2025 it was 4.37%. In the first quarter, banks granted new vehicle loans at a significantly lower average interest rate than other financial institutions. The average interest rate on new vehicle loans granted by banks was 3.59%.

The effective annual interest rate also takes into account other costs of the loan, such as set-up costs. The effective annual interest rate was slightly lower on vehicle loans granted by other financial institutions than on those granted by banks. The effective annual interest rate on new vehicle loans granted by OFIs was 6.21% in the first quarter, while the corresponding rate on new vehicle loan agreements granted by banks^[3] was 6.52%. The majority of new vehicle loans granted by both other financial institutions (75%) and banks (95%) in the first quarter were fixed-rate loans.

The next news release on other financial institutions will be published on 2 September 2026 at 10 am.

Most of the figures presented in the release have been published in the Other financial institutions dashboard.

The statistical data are also available via an API from the Bank of Finland’s open data portal. For details, see https://www.suomenpankki.fi/en/statistics/open-data/?epslanguage=en

Name & Shame process:

Financial corporations intentionally dropping out of the OFI statistics during the period 2026Q1:

DNB Auto Finance Oy

VOLUME OF LOANS GRANTED BY OFIS TO FINNISH NFCS AND HOUSEHOLDS, 2026Q1:

_{[1] Other financial institutions (OFIs) are entities operating in the financial sector in the intermediation of finance outside credit institutions.}

_{[2] For further information, see the release published in 2024: suomenpankki.fi}

_{[3] In the credit institutions’ data collection, the effective annual interest rate is collected from new loan agreements, while in the OFIs’ data collection it is collected from new loan drawdowns.}