Growth of housing corporations’ loan stock has slowed down

At the end of February 2024, the loan stock of housing corporations¹ stood at EUR 43.9 billion. At the end of 2023, EUR 22.8 billion of these loans were payable by households, accounting for 52% of all housing corporation loans.² Due to the rise in interest rates and slowdown in construction, the rate of growth of the housing corporation loan stock has slowed down abruptly. At the end of February, the annual growth rate was 3.2%. Although the growth rate of the stock of housing corporation loans has clearly slowed down, it is still faster than that of household loans (-1.0%) and corporate loans³ (0.7%).

In February 2024, housing corporations drew down new loans⁴ in the amount of EUR 350 million, which is 11.5% less than in the same period a year earlier. As interest rates have risen, housing corporations have actively renegotiated their loans. In the past 12 months, housing corporations have renegotiated loans totalling EUR 5.6 billion. A year earlier, the corresponding figure was EUR 4.8 billion, which represented an increase of 14.9% year-on-year.

In February 2024, the average interest rate on new loans drawn down by housing corporations was 4.73%. Although the interest rate on new drawdowns has declined from the end of 2023, it was still at a higher level than a year earlier (4%). At the end of February 2024, the average interest rate on the housing corporation loan stock stood at 4.51%. The interest rate was lower in comparison with the loan stock of non-financial corporations (excl. housing corporations) (4.97%) or households (4.63%) in February 2024. The interest rate paid by households on the housing loan stock (4.08%) was lower than the interest rate on the housing corporation loan stock.

Loans

New drawdowns of housing loans by Finnish households amounted to EUR 0.9 billion in February 2024, which is EUR 60 million less than in the same period a year earlier. Buy-to-let mortgages accounted for EUR 90 million of the new housing loan drawdowns. The average interest rate on new housing loans rose from January to stand at 4.37% in February. At the end of February 2024, the housing loan stock totalled EUR 106.2 billion, and its year-on-year growth amounted to -1.4%. Buy-to-let mortgages accounted for EUR 8.6 billion of the housing loan stock. At the end of February, Finnish households held EUR 17.8 billion of consumer credit and EUR 17.7 billion of other loans.

Finnish non-financial corporations⁵ drew down EUR 1.0 EUR of new loans⁶ in February. The average interest rate on new corporate-loan drawdowns declined from January to 5.37%. At the end of February, the stock of loans granted to Finnish non-financial corporations stood at EUR 63.3 billion.

Deposits

At the end of February 2024, Finnish households’ aggregate deposit stock totalled EUR 108.0 billion, and the average interest rate on these deposits was 1.29%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 67.6 billion and deposits with an agreed maturity for EUR 12.4 billion of the total deposit stock. In February, Finnish households made new agreements on deposits with an agreed maturity in the amount of EUR 1,630 million, at an average interest rate of 3.45%.

For further information, please contact:

• Ville Tolkki, tel. +358 9 183 2420, email: ville.tolkki(at)bof.fi,
• Antti Hirvonen, tel. +358 9 183 2121, email: antti.hirvonen(at)bof.fi.

The next news release on money and banking statistics will be published at 10:00 on 29 April 2024.

[1] Housing corporations include all units of institutional forms of housing, such as other public housing corporations. Housing companies (private domestic limited-liability apartment house companies) account for approximately 57% of the housing corporation loan stock. The remainder consists primarily of loans held by other public housing corporations and other private domestic housing corporations. Other housing corporations (than limited-liability apartment house companies) include private rental apartment groups, real estate consortia, public (mainly municipal) rental apartment companies and entities, such as apartment lessors, designated as non-profits by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland, Ara.  Statistics Finland is responsible for the sectoral classification.

[2] Data on housing company loans is from financial accounts published by Statistics Finland on 28 March 2024.

[3] Excl. housing corporations.

[4] Excl. overdrafts and credit card credit.

[5] Excl. housing corporations.

[6] Excl. overdrafts and credit card credit.