Quick loans, or high-cost credits, are a loan that has placed many Swedes in the debt trap. Interest rates of up to 400 percent have sometimes been seen.
With the interest rate ceiling, which is currently 40 percent plus the reference rate, it is no longer possible. But the interest rate ceiling is still high, thinks SPP’s Shoka Åhrman. The Swedes’ debts to the Crown Office are growing by SEK 20 million per day.
– In Sweden, we have a high level of indebtedness, both mortgages and unsecured loans. A lower interest rate ceiling can be a start, says Shoka Åhrman.
Finland’s interest rate ceiling lower than Sweden’s
In Finland, the interest rate ceiling is lower – in 2019 it was lowered to 20 percent and this autumn the ceiling will be 15 percent. According to Lasse Corin, chief economist at the Finnish bank and asset manager Aktia, two clear effects have been seen:
– Many credit companies that lived on extreme interest rates have disappeared from the market. Since then, the number of people with an official payment notice has decreased, he says.
The private economist: Time to evaluate the interest rate ceiling
Arturo Arques, private economist at Swedbank, thinks that Finland is setting a good example.
– It is time for us to evaluate our interest rate ceiling, he says to the Economic Agency.
Don’t miss Ekonomibyrån’s latest episode On the margins in SVT Play.