Financial institutions (discontinued), Q4 2001

Lending to the general public, defined as municipalities, households and non-financial corporations, went up by 13 per cent during 2001, to a total of NOK 1 481 billion. Banks, which account for 70 per cent of total lending to the public, increased their lending by 10 per cent. Finance companies had a noticeable increase of 17 per cent, while State lending institutions and Norges Bank increased their lending by 5 per cent. Insurance companies lending rose by 3 per cent.

0.21 percentage points lower interest rate

Fourth quarter figures from the Central Bank of Norway show a decrease in the interest rate for banks by 0.18 percentage points. This means the average interest rate on loans at the end of the fourth quarter 2001 totaled 8.72 per cent, which is 0.21 percentage points lower than one year before. The deposit rate fell by 0.11 percentage points to 5.73 per cent, which is 0.08 percentage points lower than at the end of the fourth quarter 2000.

Increased total assets

Financial institutions' total assets amounted to NOK 3 512 billion by the end of the fourth quarter 2001, up 13 per cent from the fourth quarter 2000. Norges Bank showed the greatest increase by 22 per cent, which is influenced by investments in the Government Petroleum Fund. Finance companies increased their total assets by 19 per cent. Banks and insurance companies raised their assets by 9 and 8 per cent during the same period.