Finland Times

 

Lending by financial asset gategory at the end of the 3rd guarter of 2015, per cent. Source: Outstanding credit, Statistics Finland.

Outstanding credits granted by other Finnish financial and insurance corporations and general government remained at EUR 96 billion at the end of September 2015 as well, according to Statistics Finland’s data.

 

Finnish companies granted a total of EUR three billion in new credits during the quarter. In outstanding credit, the total stock of lending in euros and other currencies amounted to EUR 29 billion, bonds at nominal prices to EUR 63 billion, and money market instruments to EUR four billion as indicated by the statistics on outstanding credit.

 

Credits granted by other Finnish financial corporations, excluding insurance corporations and general government, to businesses, non-financial corporations and households of own-account workers amounted to EUR four billion, of which the largest share, 22 per cent, was directed to manufacturing.

 

The credit stock granted by other Finnish financial corporations (including microloan companies and pawn brokers, excl. insurance corporations and general government) to households also stood unchanged at EUR two billion in the third quarter.

 

The share of consumption credits also remained unchanged at 95 per cent, the data show.

 

During the third quarter of 2015, a total of 113,258 new small loans, or so-called quick loans, were granted to households, amounting to nearly EUR 87 million.

 

During the quarter, 124 per cent more new euro-denominated loans were granted than in the corresponding quarter last year, and nearly 60 per cent more than in the previous quarter.

 

The average quick loan in the third quarter of the year amounted to EUR 765 and the average repayment period was nearly 140 days.

 

In total, borrowers of small loans paid EUR eight million in different types of costs on small loans taken out in July to September, which was 35 per cent more than in the year before.

 

The costs directed at small loans were nearly ten per cent of the granted new loans during the quarter.

 

The statistics included 47 small loan companies in the third quarter of 2015.

 

The changes in small loans are the result of a legislation amendment that came into force on 1 June 2013 based on which a 51 per cent interest rate ceiling was placed on small loans.

 

As a result, some small loan companies closed down their operation and some renewed their services more towards so-called flexible credits.