Brisk activity in housing loan drawdowns
In January–September 2017, drawdowns of housing loans amounted to EUR 13.6 bn, which is 2% more than in the year-earlier period and 11% more than in January–September 2015. Drawdowns of housing loans have last been higher in this period in 2012. In September 2017, households drew down EUR 1.6 bn worth of new housing loans, the same amount as in September 2016.
Interest rates on housing loans declined further. The average interest rate on new housing loans drawn down in September 2017 was 1.02% and the imputed margin was 1.00%. The margin was last as narrow in 2012. The popularity of Euribor rates as reference rates for housing loans remained high. In September, 98% of new housing loans were linked to Euribor rates and 2% to fixed interest rates.
Housing loan repayment periods lengthened by six months from 2016. The average repayment period of new housing loans drawn down in January–September 2017 was 19 years 6 months, compared to 19 years in 2016.
Loans
At the end of September 2017, the stock of euro-denominated housing loans amounted to EUR 95.7 bn and the annual growth rate of the stock was 2.2%. Household credit at the end of September comprised EUR 15.1 bn in consumer credit and EUR 16.8 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 September 2017. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns rose from August, to 2.03%. The stock of euro-denominated loans to non-financial corporations at the end of September was EUR 79 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 27.8 bn.
Deposits
At the end of September 2017, the stock of household deposits totalled EUR 87.5 bn. The average interest rate on the deposits was 0.15%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 65.4 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 7.1 bn of the deposit stock. In September, households concluded EUR 0.4 bn of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity, at an average interest rate of 0.37%.
Key figures of Finnish MFIs' loans and deposits, preliminary data
| July, EUR million | August, EUR million | September, EUR million | September, 12-month change1, % | Average interest rate, % | |
| Loans to households2, stock | 126,622 | 127,129 | 127,636 | 2,7 | 1,54 |
| - of which housing loans | 95,103 | 95,370 | 95,672 | 2,2 | 1,03 |
| Loans to non-financial corporations2, stock | 78,079 | 78,287 | 78,951 | 6,2 | 1,41 |
| Deposits by households2, stock | 86,821 | 86,721 | 87,455 | 3,9 | 0,15 |
| Households' new drawdowns of housing loans | 1,379 | 1,610 | 1,590 | 1,02 |
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 30 November 2017.
Related statistical data and graphs are also available on the Bank of Finland website: https://www.suomenpankki.fi/en/Statistics/mfi-balance-sheet/.