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Life on credit, which is evidently a popular activity in the capital. Because the Berliners took out an average of 14,987 euros in credit last year – that is 256 euros more than in the national comparison.
By Boris Dombrowski and Sara Orlos Fernandes
But what about in the individual districts? Check24 evaluated this exclusively for BZ. The basis is all installment loans that were concluded between November 2020 and October 2021 in Berlin’s 189 postcode areas via the comparison portal.
The result: Significant differences in the loan amount depending on the location in the city. The difference is up to 15,296 euros!
The lowest loan amount with an average of 9300 euros was recorded in the zip code area 12099, according to Check24. The area (see map) is located on Tempelhofer Feld and belongs to the districts of Britz, Mariendorf, Neukölln and Tempelhof.
The loan amount in 10369 Berlin is only slightly higher: the installment loan takers in Lichtenberg and Fennpfuhl have pumped an average of 9577 euros at their financial institution. Followed by an average of 10,280 euros in 12165 Berlin (Steglitz).
No comparison to the 24,596 euros (highest value in Berlin!) That the residents in 14129 Berlin (Nikolassee, Zehlendorf) borrowed from the bank.
It was only slightly lower (23,833 euros) on average in 14055 Berlin (Westend, Grunewald, Charlottenburg) and with 23,445 euros credit in the postcode area 14195, which includes the districts of Schmargendorf, Dahlem, Grunewald, Lichterfelde, Steglitz and Wilmersdorf.
A whopping 15,296 euros difference in the loan amount – a look at the map shows: Wherever the proverbial money lives, the loans are usually higher. No wonder, because: “Income is a key component of whether and in what amount the bank grants a loan,” says Check24 head of credit department Dr. Moritz Felde. “That is why the loan amounts also reflect the differences in wages.”
also read
►Berliners owe the capital 325 million euros!
►Unemployment is the most common reason for over-indebtedness
Every tenth Berliner is over-indebted
Over-indebted – a good every tenth Berliner (10.81 percent) is affected!
In other words: Around 330,000 residents of the capital, aged 18 and over, have overburdened themselves so financially that they can no longer pay their running costs such as rent, etc. This is shown by the Debtor Atlas 2021 by the credit reporting agency Creditreform.
In 2020, the over-indebtedness rate was even higher at 12.02% (almost 370,000 people affected). Nevertheless, Berlin will again be well above the national average (8.86%) in 2021 – and, as it has for years, in third from last place. Only in Saxony-Anhalt (2021: 11.56%) and Bremen (12.81%) is over-indebtedness regularly higher than in Berlin.
However, the financial hardship in the capital varies greatly depending on the district. According to the latest figures from 2020, the rate was highest in Spandau at 15.46% and lowest in Steglitz-Zehlendorf at 7.8%.
And this is how it looked in the other districts: Neukölln 14.82%, Marzahn-Hellersdorf 14.59%, Mitte 14.19%, Reinickendorf 13.7%, Lichtenberg 12.1%, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 11.62%, Tempelhof-Schöneberg 11.12%, Treptow-Köpenick 10.62%, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 10.58% and Pankow 9.2%.
So you don’t fall into the debt trap
How can the debt trap be avoided? What should everyone look out for when taking out a loan.
Susanne Wilkening from the Debtor and Insolvency Advice Center Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) gives six important tips:
► Use your overdraft facility – in short: overdraft facility – only ever in a real emergency and if there is no other way. Because an overdraft facility is very expensive. Then settle the account as soon as possible!
► Installment loans have a lower interest rate than an overdraft facility. You pay back a certain monthly rate. Before you sign: Compare different offers. This can be done on the Internet via comparison portals or with the help of the “Finanztest” magazine.
► Before you take out an installment loan: Try out whether you can really afford the monthly installment. To do this, you should pay the planned rate into a savings account for at least three months. This is how you can see whether it really works with repayment / repayment.
► Do not pay at all or as seldom as possible with your credit card. Otherwise you quickly lose track of things and are often badly surprised when you make a collective debit at the end of the month or at the beginning of the month. The interest rates and fees on credit cards can also be very high.
► There are also prepaid credit cards. They only work on a credit basis. So you first have to deposit money on the card and then you can pay with it – without any nasty surprises. This way, debts cannot arise in the first place.
► On no account use offers for so-called “Loans without Schufa” on the Internet. These are almost always fraudulent offers!
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