A lively April in housing-loan drawdowns

Drawdowns of both housing and leisure-home⁽¹ loans typically pick up in the early summer. New drawdowns of housing loans in April 2016 amounted to EUR 1.6 bn, which is the highest monthly amount in more than three years. As usual, monthly drawdowns of leisure-home loans have been increasing since the beginning of the year, bringing the stock of loans back onto an upward trend in April. The demand for leisure-home loans normally peaks in June.

There are differences in the terms and conditions of housing and leisure-home loans. Leisure-home loans are typically for shorter periods, and they are usually slightly costlier than housing loans. In April 2016, the average interest rates on new leisure-home loans and on new housing loans were 1.43% and 1.22%, respectively. The average repayment period for leisure-home loans was 15 years 5 months, for housing loans 19 years. These types of loans barely differ as regards collateral: the loans are for the most part secured by mortgages on real estate.

Loans

In April 2016, households’ new drawdowns of housing loans amounted to EUR 1.6 bn, which was well over EUR 0.1 bn more than a year earlier in April. The imputed margin on new housing-loan drawdowns was 1,20%. The stock of euro-denominated housing loans totalled EUR 92.5 bn at the end of April, and the annual growth rate of the housing loan stock was 2.7%. At end-April, household credit comprised EUR 14.1 bn in consumer credit and EUR 16.1 bn in other loans.

New drawdowns of loans to non-financial corporations (excl. overdrafts and credit card credit) amounted to EUR 2.0 bn in April. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns declined from March, to 1.76%. At the end of April, the stock of euro-denominated loans to non-financial corporations was EUR 73.6 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 23.9 bn.

Deposits

At end-April, the stock of household deposits totalled EUR 83.7 bn, and the average interest rate on the deposits was 0.24%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 58.8 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 10.5 bn of the total deposit stock. In April, households concluded EUR 1.1 bn of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity, at an average interest rate of 0.51%.

¹⁾Leisure-home loans are included in ‘other loans’ in MFI statistics.
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.