The amount outstanding of foreign currency loans (FX loan volume) owed by Austrian households decreased again in Q4 2013. At the end of December 2013, € 27.4 billion was awaiting repayment. After allowing for exchange rate fluctuations, this is € 3.4 billion or 11.1% less than during the same period one year earlier. Compared with Q3 2013, the decline amounted to € 0.9 billion or 3.0%. 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 € 18.6 billion or 40.4%, after exchange rate adjustment. This information was disclosed in the FMA Q4 2013 Survey on Changes in Foreign Currency Loans.
At the end of December 2013, the majority (95.6%) 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 34.8% against the euro.
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-6006
+43/(0)676/882 49 516