Statistics 30 November 2023 10:00 AM

October 2023 sees low amount of corporate loan drawdowns

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 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. The average interest rate on new corporate loans was 5.70%, up 0.18 percentage points on September 2023. 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.

The largest rise in the average interest rates on new corporate loans was seen in the category of large corporate loans, i.e. loans of over EUR 1 million. The average interest on these loans rose by 0.15 percentage points from September, to stand at 5.44% in October 2023. The average interest on small loans of less than EUR 250,000 was 6.32%, and the average interest on medium-sized loans (over EUR 250,000 and up to EUR 1 million) was 6.19%.

Of the new corporate loans drawn down in October, 13.5% were taken out by firms in the manufacturing sector. This was less than usual. Correspondingly, the real estate sector’s share of new drawdowns (21.9%) was higher than usual.

Most (55%) of the corporate loans drawn down in October were with a maturity of over 1 and up to 5 years, and the average interest rate on these loans was 5.68%. The average interest on new corporate loans with up to one year’s maturity was 6.43%. These loans accounted for 19% of total corporate loan drawdowns. The average interest on long-term corporate loans with over 5 years’ maturity was 5.3%.

Loans

Finnish households’ drawdowns of new housing loans amounted to EUR 1.1 billion in October 2023, a decline of EUR 140 million from October a year earlier. Of the total, investment property loans accounted for EUR 100 million. The average interest rate on new housing loans rose from September, to 4.73%. At the end of October 2023, the stock of housing loans stood at EUR 106.5 billion, and the annual growth rate of the loan stock was -1.9%. Investment property loans accounted for EUR 8.6 billion of the housing loan stock. Of the total stock Finnish households’ loans at the end of October 2023, consumer credit amounted to EUR 17.1 billion and other loans, EUR 17.7 billion.

Drawdowns of new loans[2] by Finnish housing corporations amounted to EUR 560 million in October 2023. The average interest rate on these rose from September and stood at 5.38%. At the end of October, the stock of loans to Finnish housing corporations totalled EUR 43.8 billion.

Deposits

At the end of October 2023, the stock of Finnish households’ deposits stood at EUR 108.4 billion, and the average interest rate on the deposits was 1.03%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 72.0 billion and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 9.7 billion of the deposit stock. In October, households concluded EUR 1,110 million of new agreements on deposits with agreed maturity, at an average interest rate of 3.36%.

Loans and deposits to Finland, preliminary data*
	August, EUR million	September, EUR million	October, EUR million	October, 12-month change¹, %	Average interest rate, %
Loans to households, stock	141,676	141,596	141,257	-1.6	4.51
- of which housing loans	106,749	106,719	106,535	-1.9	3.97
- of which buy-to-let mortgages	8,640	8,650	8,641		4.17
Loans to non-financial corporations², stock	105,407	106,10	105,873	-0.4	4.68
Deposits by households, stock	109,278	110,110	108,351	-3.9	1.03
Households' new drawdowns of housing loans	1,139	1,131	1,128		4.73
- of which buy-to-let mortgages	112	101	100		4.87

* Includes loans and deposits in all currencies to residents in Finland. The statistical releases of the Bank of Finland up to January 2021, as well as those of the ECB, present loans and deposits in euro to euro area residents and also include non-profit institutions serving households. For these reasons, the figures in this table differ from those in the aforementioned releases.
1 Rate of change has been calculated from monthly differences in levels adjusted for classification and other revaluation changes.
2 Non-financial corporations also include housing corporations.