In an article on Ytring on 5 August, Storting representative Andreas Sjalg Unneland from SV advocates for legislating a maximum interest rate on consumer loans. There is no need for that. Since 1 July 2019, consumer debt in Norway has fallen by more than NOK 25 billion, and fewer and fewer people are getting debt they can’t handle. In recent years, several different rules have been adopted which have contributed to this. The measures have been very targeted and effective. It is the clear opinion of Finans Norge and the Association of Financial Companies that it is better to ensure fine-tuning and good compliance with these rules than to introduce new and completely different rules that will address the same problem. The proposed changes to the debt registers that were submitted for consultation before the summer are, for example, very important to implement. The introduction of the debt registers as of 1 July 2019, together with strict rules in the lending regulations for when unsecured credit can be granted, has contributed to the aforementioned decrease in consumer debt. In January 2020, the total unsecured credit in Norway was NOK 175.6 billion. Subsequently, total unsecured debt has fallen steadily, down to NOK 150.3 billion as of 1 July 2022. Expanding the debt registers with more information, so that the banks have the opportunity to make their credit assessments on as correct a basis as possible, must therefore be the most important thing for the representatives of the Storting to work towards now. The Consumer Research Institute SIFO’s report “Do the debt registers work?” from 2021 also provides support for extensions of the debt registers. When Unneland focuses on the fact that consumer debt has increased this summer, it is therefore only a small window of time that he is starting from. It is natural that the unsecured debt increases in the holiday month of July, as the preferred and recommended means of payment when traveling is precisely a credit card. Credit cards provide protection for the customer if, for example, the airline goes bankrupt or an item is not delivered as expected. In addition, free travel insurance is often offered on the card, which is a big advantage for young people who don’t think they have to have insurance or can’t afford to buy a year-round travel insurance. This year, many have also had their journeys with SAS canceled and have bought new journeys with a credit card before they have received a refund for the canceled journey. We are not familiar with interest rates of 50 percent in the market. The highest interest rates are on credit cards that have many small transactions. Here, the interest rate is usually between 15-25 percent and the same for all customers. With a maximum interest rate of 9.5 per cent, which Unneland advocates, it will not be profitable to offer credit cards in the same way as today. This could involve a closure of the card programme, which therefore provides both benefits and rights for consumers. As mentioned, the important thing must be that the bank makes a good assessment of the individual applying for a credit card, to see if that person can handle the card and the debt this potentially entails. Here there is reason to remember that if the credit card debt is paid when due, no interest will accrue. It is good that Unneland is concerned with the young adults. According to Finanstilsynet’s report on the development of consumer loans from April 2022, young people under the age of 29 account for between 6-7 per cent of the total debt. The percentage is relatively unchanged in a falling market. Of the total defaulted consumer debt, young people under the age of 29 account for 3.7 per cent. It must be a goal to bring this number down, but in our opinion it is better done with other means than setting a maximum price for unsecured credit. FOLLOW THE DEBATE:
ttn-69
We do not need an interest rate cap – Statement
