Parliament to investigate interest rates on consumer loans

Parliament,Stortinget, 4 partiesParliament,Stortinget.Photo:Norway Today Media

Parliament has asked the government to investigate interest rates on consumer loans, and unsecured debt, in order to prevent Norwegians from falling into debt.

Parliament decided on Wednesday evening to ask the government to investigate the possibility of introducing an interest rate on unsecured debt and consumer loans, as a number of EU countries have already done.

The proposal was promoted by the Arbeiderpartiet (Ap) and Christian Democratic Party (KrF), but the most likely proposal was first presented by the Sosialistisk Venstreparti (SV), Ap, and Senterpartiet (Sp) in June last year, but was cancelled in April this year.

On Tuesday, a proposal from Ap and Venstreparti (V), with the same meaning, but with a slightly different wording, was given.

SV’s fiscal spokesman, Snorre Valen, is pleased with the decision, but at the same time said, ’it was high time, because we can’t continue to give useless banks greater scope in Norway than in other European countries.

The proposal now adopted is identical to what was voted down in April, so we could already have started if KrF and V had thought a little faster. But finally, it’s in place’, Valen commented to NTB news agency.

‘Now we hope the government will work quickly so that parliament can begin the introduction of an interest rate this autumn to protect Norwegian consumers against junk banks,’ he said.

In the proposal from AP and KrF, it shows that the interest rates that some banks take for unsecured debt in Norway are disproportionately high, and this particularly affects those with the least ability to pay.

The two political parties also point out that personal debt accumulation in Norway is running very high, and there has been a worrying rise in unsecured consumer loans.

An interest rate deduction will make it less interesting providing loans to people without payment ability. The interest rate target will aim to discourage the suppliers of the worst credit offers, it said in the proposal.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today