The amount outstanding of foreign currency loans (FX loan volume) owed by Austrian households decreased again in Q1 2013. At the end of March 2013, € 30.3 billion still had to be repaid. After allowing for exchange rate fluctuations, this is € 5.8 billion or 16.1% lower than during the same period one year earlier. Compared with Q4 2012, the decline amounts to € 1.0 billion or 3.3%. In autumn 2008 the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) announced a ban on new FX loans, along with other initiatives intended to limit the risk posed by such outstanding FX loans. Since then the volume of borrowings has fallen by € 16.3 billion or 35.0%, after exchange rate adjustment. This information was disclosed in the FMA Q1 2013 Survey on Changes in Foreign Currency Loans.
At the end of Q1 2013, the majority (93.9%) of outstanding FX loans continued to be denominated in Swiss francs, with the rest almost exclusively in Japanese yen. Since the beginning of 2008, the Swiss franc has climbed in value by 35.7% against the euro. To prevent any further rise, the Swiss National Bank has intervened and pegged its currency at 1.20 Swiss francs per euro for the time being.
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-5106
+43/(0)676/882 49 516