Norwegians have a total of NOK 5,519 billion in debt. Nevertheless, few of us are particularly afraid of interest rate hikes.
In a poll ‘Response’ made for VG newspaper, 59% of respondents said they have loans for housing or holiday cabins.
More than half of those who have loans (54%) said they will not have trouble servicing the loan at all if interest rates rise by 2%. 26% said that they “to a lesser extent” will have problems.
Only 4% of respondents said that they “will largely” have trouble servicing the loan if the interest rate rises by 2%, while 13% are having problems “to some extent”.
“Our barometer also shows strong household optimism. And the key to optimism is a good job market.
As long as the Norwegian economy continues to show growth and we do not get unemployment, Norwegian households have good reason for their optimism,” said communications director, Tom Staavi of Finance Norway.
The survey also showed that women and adolescents are more concerned than men and the elderly. 60% of men and 49% of women are not at all worried about being hit by a 2% increase in interest rates.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
