The reform of financial aid for students into force in 1 August 2017. As a result, the amount of government-guaranteed student loan per month went up by over 60%. There were also other changes to financial aid for students, such as a reduction in study grants paid to students in higher education and inclusion of students in the coverage of the general housing allowance scheme.
The student loan amount for the autumn semester can be taken out on 1 August, at the earliest, and the amount for the spring semester on 1 January. In fact, drawdowns of student loans are at their highest in August and January. In August 2017, drawdowns of student loans totalled EUR 143 million, which is over twice the amount for the year-earlier period. During the current year, student-loan drawdowns have already surpassed the total for 2016.
With the pick-up in student-loan drawdowns, the stock of student loans is also growing at a record pace. In August 2017, the stock of student loans amounted to EUR 2.7 bn and the annual growth rate of the stock was 17.2%. At present, the student loan stock is growing at the fastest pace of all loans to households. In August, student loans accounted for 2% of all loans to households.
Loans
In August 2017, households drew down new housing loans to the value of EUR 1.6 bn. The average interest rate on new housing-loan drawdowns was 1.05% and the imputed margin was 1.03%. At the end of August 2017, the stock of euro-denominated housing loans amounted to EUR 95.4 bn and the annual growth rate of the stock was 2.1%. Household credit at the end of August comprised EUR 15.1 bn in consumer credit and EUR 16.7 bn in other loans.
New drawdowns of loans to non-financial corporations (excl. overdrafts and credit card credit) amounted to EUR 1.7 bn in August 2017. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns declined from July and was 1.96%. The stock of euro-denominated loans to non-financial corporations at the end of August was EUR 78.3 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 27.5 bn.
Deposits
At the end of August, the stock of household deposits totalled EUR 86.7 bn. The average interest rate on the deposits was 0.15%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 64.5 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 7.3 bn of the deposit stock. In August, households concluded EUR 0.6 bn of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity, at an average interest rate of 0.35%.
Key figures of Finnish MFIs' loans and deposits, preliminary data
| June, EUR million | July, EUR million | August, EUR million | August, 12-month change1, % | Average interest rate, % | |
| Loans to households2, stock | 126,318 | 126,622 | 127,129 | 2,6 | 1,54 |
| - of which housing loans | 94,985 | 95,103 | 95,370 | 2,1 | 1,04 |
| Loans to non-financial corporations2, stock | 78,291 | 78,079 | 78,287 | 5,8 | 1,41 |
| Deposits by households2, stock | 87,080 | 86,821 | 86,721 | 2,8 | 0,15 |
| Households' new drawdowns of housing loans | 1,774 | 1,379 | 1,610 | 1,05 |
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
- Imputed interest rate margins on loans from MFIs
For further information, please contact
Markus Aaltonen, tel. +358 9 183 2395, email: markus.aaltonen(at)bof.fi,
Olli Tuomikoski, tel. +358 9 183 2146, email: olli.tuomikoski(at)bof.fi.
The next news release will be published at 1 pm on 31 October 2017.
Related statistical data and graphs are also available on the Bank of Finland website: https://www.suomenpankki.fi/en/Statistics/mfi-balance-sheet/.