Mortgages up, business loans down

VILNIUS — Lithuanian banks are opening up their lending to home owners, but not to businesses, new statistics show.

Lending has been extremely tight since the economic crisis hit Lithuania’s shores. Banks cut off credit when they saw their portfolios [private_supervisor]increasingly becoming liabilities instead of assets. All the major banks in 2009 made losses, but now with a slow recovery underway in Lithuania, banks seem more open to lending than before.

The total mortgage portfolio of Lithuania grew by 0.8 percent to 19.6 billion litai (€5.68 billion), the Association of Lithuanian Banks reported.

“This, though insignificant, show the new expectations for the housing market and once again shows that the mortgage holders are in a much more stable situation,” Stasys Kropas, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks said.

Overall, the total loan portfolio in May fell 0.61 percent, showing that businesses are getting significantly less. Since the beginning of the year, the total loan portfolio shrank by 4 percent.

Deposits increased slightly, but interest rates on fixed term deposits dropped.

Kropas said the figures pointed to a change in banking behavior for borrowing and saving among clients. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]increasingly becoming liabilities instead of assets. All the major banks in 2009 made losses, but now with a slow recovery underway in Lithuania, banks seem more open to lending than before.

The total mortgage portfolio of Lithuania grew by 0.8 percent to 19.6 billion litai (€5.68 billion), the Association of Lithuanian Banks reported.

“This, though insignificant, show the new expectations for the housing market and once again shows that the mortgage holders are in a much more stable situation,” Stasys Kropas, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks said.

Overall, the total loan portfolio in May fell 0.61 percent, showing that businesses are getting significantly less. Since the beginning of the year, the total loan portfolio shrank by 4 percent.

Deposits increased slightly, but interest rates on fixed term deposits dropped.

Kropas said the figures pointed to a change in banking behavior for borrowing and saving among clients. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]increasingly becoming liabilities instead of assets. All the major banks in 2009 made losses, but now with a slow recovery underway in Lithuania, banks seem more open to lending than before.

The total mortgage portfolio of Lithuania grew by 0.8 percent to 19.6 billion litai (€5.68 billion), the Association of Lithuanian Banks reported.

“This, though insignificant, show the new expectations for the housing market and once again shows that the mortgage holders are in a much more stable situation,” Stasys Kropas, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks said.

Overall, the total loan portfolio in May fell 0.61 percent, showing that businesses are getting significantly less. Since the beginning of the year, the total loan portfolio shrank by 4 percent.

Deposits increased slightly, but interest rates on fixed term deposits dropped.

Kropas said the figures pointed to a change in banking behavior for borrowing and saving among clients. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]increasingly becoming liabilities instead of assets. All the major banks in 2009 made losses, but now with a slow recovery underway in Lithuania, banks seem more open to lending than before.

The total mortgage portfolio of Lithuania grew by 0.8 percent to 19.6 billion litai (€5.68 billion), the Association of Lithuanian Banks reported.

“This, though insignificant, show the new expectations for the housing market and once again shows that the mortgage holders are in a much more stable situation,” Stasys Kropas, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks said.

Overall, the total loan portfolio in May fell 0.61 percent, showing that businesses are getting significantly less. Since the beginning of the year, the total loan portfolio shrank by 4 percent.

Deposits increased slightly, but interest rates on fixed term deposits dropped.

Kropas said the figures pointed to a change in banking behavior for borrowing and saving among clients. [/private_subscription 1 year]

— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.

Leave a Reply

*

ADVERTISEMENT

© 2010 Baltic Reports LLC. All rights reserved. -