Financial corporations, balance sheet, February 2009

Total loans from Norwegian banks to industries amounted to NOK 1 050 billion at the end of February 2009. Norwegian banks’ loans to the shipping industry accounted for almost 8 per cent of total bank loans to Norwegian industries. Loans to shipping amounted to NOK 80.3 billion at the end of February 2009, an increase of NOK 1.8 billion from January. The growth in loans to shipping has experienced a sharp rise during the last year. From February 2008 to February 2009 total bank loans have increased from NOK 48.8 billion to NOK 80.3 billion. This is reflected in a twelve-month growth as high as 64.4 per cent. This is the second highest twelve-month growth ever recorded. The percentage monthly growth of these loans was 2.2 per cent in February.

Almost 80 per cent of Norwegian banks’ loans to the shipping industry are in foreign currencies, and almost the entire increase in loan growth in February 2009 was related to foreign currencies. As all data in the balance sheet are converted to Norwegian currency, fluctuation in the Norwegian currency against foreign currencies therefore has an effect on the balance sheet figures concerning these loans.

Growth in loans to real estate levels out

The stock of outstanding loans to real estate businesses in Norwegian banks amounted to NOK 563 billion at the end of February 2009. The real estate business is by far the largest borrowing industry, accounting for over 53.8 per cent of total bank loans to Norwegian industries.

The sharp growth in this business from the two preceding years has gradually slowed down in 2008, and it looks like this development will continue in 2009. The twelve-month growth to end-February was 11.7 per cent, down from 13.2 per cent at the end of January. This was the lowest twelve-month growth since April 2005 - a tendency which is supported by a low monthly growth of 0.2 per cent in this trade.

Decline in loan growth for other industries

At the end of February this year, Norwegian banks’ loans to commodity trade and the hotel- and restaurant industry amounted to NOK 86 billion. After a sharp increase in the loan growth in this trade throughout 2008, with an average twelve-month growth of 21 per cent, the growth has declined in the first two months of 2009. The twelve-month growth to end-February was 7.5 per cent - the lowest growth since October 2007. The monthly growth from January to February 2009 was only 0.6 per cent.

Norwegian banks’ loans to industrial industries amounted to NOK 95.9 billion at the end of February 2009, which was unaltered from January. The twelve-month growth has declined the last months - from all time high to end-October 2008, at 57.2 per cent, to 28.8 per cent at the end of February this year. The percentage monthly growth was -2 per cent in January 2009, and there was no monthly growth in stock of loans in February.