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FMA Q1 2012 Quarterly Survey on Changes in Foreign Currency Loans

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The amount outstanding in terms of foreign currency loans (FX loan volume) owed by Austrian households has fallen tangibly: as at the end of Q1 2012 the volume outstanding was € 36.7 billion. After allowing for exchange rate fluctuations, this figure is down by € 2.9 billion, a fall of 7.3% compared with the same period of the previous year. In comparison with autumn 2008, when the FMA imposed a ban on the award of new foreign currency loans, the total volume outstanding has dropped by € 10.7 billion after allowing for exchange rate fluctuations, or 22.5%. Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis at the start of 2008, the Swiss franc has increased in value against the euro by 37.4%. This information was disclosed in the Quarterly Survey on Changes in the Volume of Foreign Currency Loans, published today by the Financial Market Authority (FMA).

FMA Executive Directors Helmut Ettl and Kurt Pribil explained, “the sustained fall in amounts of foreign currency loans still outstanding demonstrates that both the FMA’s imposition of a ban on new lending and its recommendation that banks work with their customers to find ways of limiting the risk posed by existing FX loans are taking effect”.

The majority of foreign currency payables (93.9%) still relate to Swiss franc loans, with almost all of the remainder denominated in Japanese yen.

Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43 (0)1 24959 5106
+43 (0)676 882 49 516

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