Adjusted for exchange rate effects, the outstanding volume of foreign currency loans fell by 17.3% or € 2.03 billion during the third quarter of 2021, compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Since the ban on granting new loans was imposed in the autumn of 2008, the outstanding volume adjusted for exchange rate effects has been reduced by € 38.40 billion or 81.3 %. Compared to the previous quarter (Q2/2021) the volume fell by € 340 million or 3.4%. In absolute figures the volume of foreign currency lending to private households fell to € 9.74 billion in Q3 2021 (Q3 2020: € 11.83 billion). These were the findings of the FMA’s Survey on Foreign Currency Loans in Q3 2021.
Swiss franc exchange rate risk
The proportion of loans denominated in foreign currencies as a proportion of all outstanding household loans stood at 5.7% during the third quarter of 2021 (compared to 7.2% in Q3 2020). At its highest, in 2006, foreign currency loans accounted for around one third of all loans. As of the end of September 2021, 96.7% of the volume of the amount owed for loans in foreign currencies was for loans denominated in Swiss franc (CHF), with the remaining amount almost exclusively in Japanese yen (JPY).
Since the start of 2008, the Swiss franc (CHF) has appreciated by 53% up to 30 September 2021 against the euro; in the third quarter of 2021, the exchange rate varied between 1.0711 and 1.0985. A borrower who took out a foreign currency loan of € 100,000.00 at the start of 2008 would now have to repay almost € 153,000 based on the development of the exchange rate alone, regardless of the additional interest payments also to be made.
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-6006
+43/(0)676 882 49 516