Statistics

The aggregate value of card payments amounted to EUR 17.7 billion in the last quarter, which was 6% more than a year earlier. A total of 98 million card payments were initiated on a computer or mobile device in the last quarter of 2023, which was 21% more than in the last quarter of the previous year. The aggregate value of remote card payments (EUR 3.8 billion) was 24% more than in the corresponding period a year earlier. The aggregate value of payments made in other euro area countries using Finnish payment cards totalled EUR 1.4 billion in the last quarter of 2023, which was 14% more than in the last quarter a year earlier.

In January 2024,  drawdowns of student loans totalled EUR 279 million, representing a decline of 17% on the corresponding period last year. The average interest rate on student loans drawn down in January 2024 was 4.46%. This is the highest average interest rate on new student loan drawdowns since November 2008.

In the wake of rising interest rates, Finnish households have moved their funds to higher-interest deposit accounts. In the course of 2023, households moved EUR 7.3 of their funds to deposit accounts with an agreed maturity and a little over EUR 2 billion to investment deposit accounts .

At the end of December 2023, a total of 5.6% (EUR 160 million) of the stock of loans granted by banks to Finnish companies in the construction sector were non-performing loans (NPLs). NPL ratios for loans to the entire non-financial corporations sector have remained low. At the end of December 2023, NPLs accounted for EUR 1.2 billion, or 1.9%, of the stock of bank loans to non-financial corporations (EUR 62.0 billion).

Drawdowns of new housing loans totalled EUR 1.2 billion in November 2023, up 5% on the same month a year earlier. The average interest rate on new housing loans declined from October 2023 and stood at 4.63% in November 2023.

All in all, Finnish payment cards were used to make 0.6 billion card payments in the third quarter of 2023, which was 10% more than in the same period last year. The aggregate value of remote card payments (EUR 3.9 billion) grew 35% year-on-year.

In October 2023, non-financial corporations (excl. housing corporations) drew down new loans[1] from banks operating in Finland to a total of EUR 1.3 billion – the smallest amount in October since 2010. Most (55%) of the corporate loans drawn down were with a maturity of over 1 and up to 5 years, and the average interest rate on these loans was 5.68%. Due to the low level of drawdowns, the stock of corporate loans (EUR 58.5 billion) contracted in October by 3.0% from a year earlier.

In January–September 2023, the fund capital has grown again. At the end of September 2023, it stood at EUR 146.3 billion. In January–September 2023, the largest subscriptions were made from bond funds.

In 2022, the number of card payments initiated on a computer or mobile device increased by a third, and their total volume grew 41% year on year. Of these payment transactions, 90% were made on e-commerce platforms. The most common type of payment card used by Finns in e-commerce purchases is a debit card.

With the rise in interest rates, the popularity of deposits with agreed maturity and of investment deposits has increased among Finnish households, while the popularity of overnight deposits has decreased. At the end of September 2023, the average interest rate on the household deposit stock was 0.91%, compared with 0.05% in September a year earlier.

At the end of August 2023, a total of 4.1% of the stock of loans granted to Finnish companies in the construction sector was classified as non-performing. The share of non-performing loans rose by 0.9 percentage points from July. In August 2023, non-performing loans accounted for 1.9% of the entire corporate loan stock (EUR 62.0 billion). Impairments and credit losses recognised on loans granted to companies in the construction sector have also increased this year.

In the second quarter of 2023, a total of 595 million card payments were made using Finnish payment cards. The aggregate value of remote card payments (EUR 3.5 billion) was 21% higher than in the corresponding period a year earlier. The aggregate value of payments made in other euro area countries using Finnish payment cards totalled EUR 1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, which was 20% more than in the first quarter.

In the second quarter of 2023, Finnish non-financial corporations drew down new corporate loans from other financial institutions (OFIs) to a total of EUR 990 million. In the second quarter of 2023, among the non-financial corporations that drew down loans from OFIs, micro and small enterprises were the largest borrower group. At the end of June 2023, the stock of corporate loans granted by OFIs grew at an annual rate of 2.8%, compared with 12.4% in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Drawdowns of new housing loans in July 2023 totalled EUR 1.0 bn, a decline of 27% on the corresponding month last year. The last time housing loan drawdowns were this low in July was in 2002. In July 2023, the average interest rate on new housing loans stood at 4.55%. The average interest rate on new housing loans has not been higher than this since November 2008.

The value of listed shares held by Finnish households decreased by EUR 2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The value of the holdings decreased as the value of domestic companies’ shares declined.

In June 2023, Finnish households drew down new housing loans for the purchase of holiday homes (holiday cottage loans) to the value of EUR 88 million, which is 30% less than a year earlier in June. In June, the stock of households’ holiday cottage loans saw an exceptional year-on-year contraction of 1.4%. The volume of holiday cottage loans drawn down during the coronavirus pandemic was exceptionally high. Compared to the period before the pandemic, i.e. June 2019, drawdowns of holiday cottage loans were 6% lower in June 2023.

In May 2023, the amount of unsecured consumer credit drawn from credit institutions totalled EUR 254 million, an increase of 7% on May last year.