Growth in housing loan stock came to a halt in December
The housing loan stock contracted from the previous month for the first time in over 15 years, to EUR 88.3 bn at the end of December 2013. The volume of new drawdowns of housing loans in 2013 was significantly smaller than in previous years. In 2013, drawdowns of housing loans amounted to EUR 15.2 bn, compared to EUR 19.1 bn in 2012.
The annual growth rate of the housing loan stock has moderated for more than 12 months in a row, to 2.3% in December. In December 2012, the annual growth rate was still 5.6%. In the euro area, the annual growth declined to less than 1% on average in autumn 2013. At the beginning of 2013, the annual growth rate of the euro area housing loan stock was 1.4%.
Loans
In December 2013, households' new drawdowns of housing loans amounted to EUR 1.1 bn, or EUR 0.2 bn less than a year earlier in December. The average interest rate on new drawdowns in December was 2.03%, slightly higher than in November 2013. The stock of euro-denominated housing loans to households amounted to EUR 88.3 bn at the end of December and the average interest rate was 1.48%. The annual growth rate of the housing loan stock moderated further, to 2.3%. At the end of December, household credit comprised EUR 13 bn in consumer credit and EUR 15 bn in other loans.
New drawdowns of loans to non-financial corporations (excl. overdrafts and credit card credit) amounted to EUR 4 bn in December, which is EUR 0.8 bn less than in December 2012. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns increased from November, to 2.38%. The stock of euro-denominated loans to non-financial corporations at the end of December was EUR 66.7 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 17.8 bn. The annual growth rate of the euro-denominated corporate loan stock picked up to 7.2% in December.
Deposits
At the end of December, the stock of household deposits totalled EUR 82 bn. The average interest rate on the stock was 0.47%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 51.3 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 16.4 bn of the total deposit stock. In December, households concluded EUR 1 bn of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity. The average interest rate on these was 1.02%.
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.
Key figures of Finnish MFIs' loans and deposits, preliminary data
| October, EUR million |
November EUR million |
EUR million |
December, 12-month change1, %
|
Average interest rate, % | |
| Loans to households2, stock | 116,378 | 116,625 | 116,622 | 2.2 | 1.90 |
| - of which housing loans | 88,156 | 88,367 | 88,313 | 2.3 | 1.48 |
| Loans to non-financial corporations2, stock | 65,603 | 66,365 | 66,724 | 7.2 | 1.97 |
| Deposits by households2, stock | 81,049 | 81,243 | 81,780 | -0.7 |
0.47 |
| Households' new drawdowns of housing loans | 1,358 | 1,221 | 1,057 | – | 2.03 |
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
- Analytical accounts of the banking sector (MFIs) in Finland
For further information, please contact:
Jaakko Suni, tel. +358 10 831 2454, email: jaakko.suni(at)bof.fi,
Essi Tamminen, tel. +358 10 831 2395, email: essi.tamminen(at)bof.fi.
The next news release will be published at 1 pm on 28 February 2014.
Related statistical data and graphs are also available on the Bank of Finland website:
http://www.suomenpankki.fi/link/2331b6266da3492f832ec75e0f654bd9.aspx?epslanguage=en.