Households continue to be under pressure from both higher interest rates and other costs. This is evident in FI’s mortgage report. The report looks at new mortgagors during the autumn of 2023. We can see that there are fewer mortgagors than in previous years. Home buyers also bought slightly less expensive homes and borrowed slightly less. Total lending to households has stagnated, but despite this household indebtedness continues to be high.
FI has decided to extend the risk weight floor by two years, from 31 December 2023 to 30 December 2025.
FI notifies the EU regarding extension of the existing risk weight floor for Swedish mortgages
Mortgagors are under pressure from rising interest rates. At the same time, the majority of new mortgagors continue to have good margins in their personal finances. These are the conclusions drawn by Finansinspektionen in this year’s Swedish Mortgage Market report, which is being presented today.
Mortgagors are under pressure from rising interest rates. At the same time, the majority of new mortgagors continue to have good margins in their personal finances. These are the conclusions drawn by Finansinspektionen in this year’s Swedish Mortgage Market report, which is being presented today.
FI’s Director General Erik Thedéen participated in a panel discussion on the opportunities and risks associated with increased application of artificial intelligence and machine learning within lending and advice to households. Before he described FI’s view on this topic, Thedéen commented briefly on FI’s current assessment of the stability of the Swedish financial system.
New mortgagors took out loans that were 12 per cent larger last year than in 2020. The average loan-to-value ratio for new mortgagors rose from 307 to 327 per cent. This is the highest figure since FI started its mortgage survey. The stricter amortisation requirement has slowed rising loan-to-income ratios. The high debt means that borrowers’ personal finances are under more pressure when interest rates rise.
Swedish households continue to take increasingly larger loans. More new mortgagors than in previous years had both a high loan-to-income ratio and a high loan-to-value ratio. Higher inflation and rising interest rates mean that mortgagors have smaller margins in their personal finances. This decreases the consumption capacity at the same time as the mortgagors’ ability to repay their loan is impaired.
FI has decided to extend the risk weight floor by two years, from 31 December 2021 to 30 December 2023.
The European Commission has announced that it does not intend to object to FI's intention to extend the current risk weight floor for Swedish mortgages. This means that FI may implement the measure.
Finansinspektionen has notified the Commission and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) that it intends to adopt a decision to extend the current risk weight floor for Swedish Mortgages for a period of two years, in accordance with Article 458 of the CRR.
The rules on amortisation go into effect as normal again after 31 August. The temporary exemption that Finansinspektionen (FI) introduced due to the exceptional uncertainty in the economy during the spring of 2020 is now ending. This means that households with high loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios must amortise their mortgages.
Since 2010, FI has implemented a number of macroprudential measures aimed at increasing the resilience in the financial system and subduing the risks associated with high and rising household debt. These measures include tightening the capital requirements on banks and introducing a mortgage cap and two amortisation requirements. In this report, we present an overall assessment of these measures, with a focus on the measures that, via lenders, place restrictions on households’ mortgage borrowing.
The mortgage cap and amortisation requirements have had intended effect and subdued household debt. They are slowing a scenario where new mortgagors borrow more, taking larger loans in relation to the value of the home or their income. These are the conclusions of Finansinspektionen’s (FI) evaluation of the macroprudential measures implemented in Sweden.
The temporary amortisation exemption resulted in new mortgagors borrowing almost 4 per cent more and buying homes that were approximately 1 per cent more expensive, concludes a new FI Analysis.
The ability to borrow is beneficial to households in many ways. At the same time, debt can make their consumption more sensitive to unexpected changes in interest rates, income, and house prices. This, in turn, can affect how the economy evolves in a crisis. But measures that lead to lower debt don’t necessarily increase the resilience of all households. To assess the effects of borrower-based measures, it is necessary to also consider households’ balance sheets, in particular their liquid assets.
New borrowers are continuing to take larger mortgages in relation to their income and the value of their home, according to this year’s Swedish Mortgage Market, which is being presented today by Finansinspektionen (FI). FI also announces in the report that the temporary exemption from the amortisation requirement will end on 31 August.
New borrowers continue to take larger mortgages in relation to their income and the value of their home. At the same time, they have good margins for servicing their loans under weaker economic conditions.
FI has decided to extend the risk weight floor by one year, from 30 December 2020 to 30 December 2021.
Large credit losses can result in otherwise profitable banks reporting a loss. This FI Analysis describes a methodology for estimating how large credit losses can be in a stressed macroeconomic scenario.