Loans in Italy: how 2024 started and what the trend was in 2023
Over the last fifteen months, the Italian financial landscape has changed considerably, with significant trends in the world of financing that have influenced the spending habits of our consumers. A trend , moreover, which has further worsened in these first months of the year, confirming how much Italian citizens need a bit of liquidity to finance small or large expenses .
On the other hand, the inflationary spiral that began as early as the last quarter of 2021, grew exponentially during the first half of 2022 and continued for a good part of last year as well, has put the saving capacity of Italians to the test, which has grown exponentially, instead, during the pandemic phase and the resulting lockdowns. And many individuals, out of necessity or not seeing a significant part of their assets eroded, have opted to take out a loan .
Loan applications are increasing in 2023, even if the average amount requested is low
The most significant trend relating to the increase in personal loans, however, was recorded during 2023 , as evidenced by some data that highlights how financing models have evolved in our country. According to statistics offered by the Bank of Italy , the granting of loans has grown both in the business and consumer world.
This increase occurred despite the fact that the economic conditions applied, thanks to the increase in interest rates imposed by central banks to contain the inflation phenomenon, were worse than in 2021 and the first six months of 2022 . Looking at consumer requests, the requests – thanks to the higher rates – were finalized for modest amounts and concerned, in most cases, " basic necessity " expenses.
It is not surprising, in this sense, that there has been a collapse in the demand for mortgage loans , thanks to the skyrocketing rates due to the restrictive policy implemented by the European Central Bank. All this makes it clear how Italians have avoided taking out significant and long-term loans . Financing for the purchase of motor vehicles, for example, also fell compared to 2022, even though in these first months of the year they recorded a good increase (in continuity with what happened in the last quarter of 2024).
Payments deferred directly by the merchant, the trend that has grown the most during 2023
The year just ended, however, saw a significant increase in the use of revolving credit cards , which allow individual payments made with these electronic payment instruments to be split into installments and are a panacea for consumers who want to purchase goods , managing to spread the expense over a suitable time period.
These great benefits have pushed a growing number of Italians to turn to this innovative financing method, which is definitely suitable for consumers who want to pay in installments for purchases that are not excessively high but capable of impacting the monthly personal or family budget . And even businesses and traders, embracing the current trend, have expanded payment solutions, offering the possibility of making payments in installments in-store or online and giving their customers the opportunity to make their purchases more sustainable.
Furthermore, the prospects for 2024 should be further favourable. Unemployment is at historic lows, albeit favored by fixed-term contracts or similar, and the lack of wage growth in recent years, in a context in which inflation has eroded the purchasing power of Italians, could favor further growth of loan applications, which, if the feared interest rate cut by the ECB materializes, could be decidedly more convenient for savers.
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The article Loans in Italy: how 2024 began and what the trend was in 2023 comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/prestiti-in-italia-come-iniziato-il-2024-e-qual-e-stato-il-trend-nel-2023/ on Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:39:04 +0000.