Bank of Spain Reports Increase in Consumer Loan Demand and Decrease in Mortgage Firm Performance

The bank makes August with the credits to leave vacation this summer, as the new mortgage firm goes under. According to the latest data published by the Bank of Spain, the demand for consumer loans has increased by almost 8% in the first half of the year, after placing the volume of new operations at 15,829 million euros. On the contrary, the mortgage firm has sunk 24% in May compared to the same month in 2022 – the latest data available from the National Institute of Statistics (INE)-.

This growth in the demand for consumer credit contrasts with the significant increase in interest rates in the last year. Specifically, the average interest rate on personal loans stood at 7.86% in June, while the TAE (Annual Equivalent Rate) average is 8,96%according to the Bank of Spain.

From Rastreator they explain to OKDIARIO that in recent months there has been a sharp increase in the demand for consumer credits. “This has been reflected in 35% more of searches in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2022 in the personal loan comparator”, they assure from the firm. They also state that since May “there has been an increase in the request for vacation loans coinciding with the summer season.

For its part, Cofidis assures that 80% of Spaniards do not want to give up vacations, despite the fact that almost half of the households inflation It has meant significant changes in their standard of living. 33% of these households have had to change some important aspect in their Lifestyle. Therefore, the credits for trips They have become the solution to finance the holidays that Spaniards who have not been able to save during the year resort the most to.

Likewise, from HelpMyCash they clarify that, in general, in holiday periods such as Christmas and summer, it is common for the demand for this type of credits to cover expenses related to tripshotel reservations and leisure activities, among others.

mortgages fall

On the contrary, the rise in interest rates has passed invoice to the signature of new mortgages. In fact, the number of mortgages constituted on homes fell by 24% last May in the interannual rate, its biggest drop since January 2021, to a total of 33,398 loans, according to the INE.

In this way, the home mortgage firm chains four months of negative rates after the 2% drop recorded in February, the 15.7% drop in March and the 18.3% drop in April.

The average amount of mortgages constituted on homes has decreased by 4.6% year-on-year in the fifth month of the year, to 141,798 euros, while the capital lent has decreased by 27.5%, to 4,735.8 million euros .

In the same way, the Euribor rise has caused many Spaniards to launch into renegotiate las conditions from his mortgage to shield himself In June, these registered a new escalation in their price up to an average interest rate of 4.06%, 18 basic points more than in May. It’s about a historical maximum since the Bank of Spain began to publish the interest rate data for mortgage loan renegotiations in 2014. Never before had the level of 4% been exceeded. A year ago, mortgage renegotiations were signed with a rate of 1.96%. It should be remembered that renegotiations may include changes in the terms, in the interest rate or change from fixed to variable interest rate.