Financial corporations, balance sheet, January 2012

Total loans from Norwegian banks and mortgage companies to Norwegian households amounted to NOK 1 982 billion at end -January 2012. Loans secured on dwellings represent 86.6 per cent of these total loans. At end-January, loans secured on dwellings amounted to NOK 1 716 billion, an increase of NOK 133 billion, or 8.4 per cent, from the corresponding period last year.

Declining, but still highest growth rate in credit lines

Loans secured on dwellings can be divided into repayment loans and credit lines. Credit lines secured on dwellings from mortgage companies and banks to households amounted to NOK 454 billion at end-January. This is an increase of NOK 41 billion, or 9.7 per cent, compared to the corresponding period last year.

Repayment loans secured on dwellings have increased from NOK 1 170 billion in January 2011 to NOK 1 262 billion January this year. The twelve-month growth of 7.9 per cent is the highest growth rate observed since June 2007.

The percentage growth rate is still highest for credit lines secured on dwellings compared to repayment loans, but the twelve-month growth of 9.7 per cent is nevertheless the lowest rate ever measured for credit lines.

Increasing growth in mortgage companies

Loans secured on dwellings from mortgage companies to households amounted to NOK 880 billion at the end of January 2012. This is an increase of NOK 154 billion, or 21.3 per cent, compared to January last year. The twelve-month growth has been rising in recent months, and this is the highest growth since January 2011 when it was 37.1 per cent.

Loans secured on dwellings from banks to households amounted to NOK 836 billion at the end of January. This is a decrease of about NOK 22 billion, or - 2.5 per cent, compared to January last year. Loans secured on dwellings from banks have decreased since September 2008, but the reduction has been at the same low level, - 2.5 per cent, the past three months.

Largest share of loans secured on dwellings from mortgage companies

In recent years, loans secured on dwellings from mortgage companies to households have gradually increased compared to loans from banks. At end-January, the share of loans from mortgage companies was 51.3 per cent of the total loans secured on dwellings to households. Portfolio movements from banks to mortgage companies, which are a result of the introduction of covered bonds, may be a major reason for the rise of loans from mortgage companies and the decrease of such housing loans from banks.

At end-January this year, credit lines secured on dwellings from mortgage companies constituted 56.7 per cent of total credit lines. This amounted to NOK 257 billion. Mortgage companies’ share of credit lines has exceeded the banks’ share of credit lines since February 2010. For repayment loans secured on dwellings to households however, banks barely constituted the largest part of these loans, a share of 50.7 per cent in January this year.