In this document, FI states its position on asylum-seeking refugees’ access to financial services in cases where the asylum seeker is lacking identity documents. The position replaces FI's previous memorandum (FI Ref.16-2898).
One out of six who borrow from a consumer credit institution, previously called instant loan firms, receives a collection notice. Among all lenders, one out of five unsecured loans was approved for a person who does not have any money left after paying their monthly subsistence costs. Given the expected economic development – high inflation and higher interest rates – this percentage could increase to every third borrower. All of these observations indicate that credit assessments are insufficient. This is the conclusion of a consumer credit survey that FI is presenting today.
A large portion of Swedish households’ loans is for their homes. But the households also use loans to finance some of their consumption. Consumption credit has grown rapidly in recent years. In terms of SEK, unsecured loans represent the largest share of consumer credit. In terms of volume, invoices are the most common form of consumer credit. These are some of the conclusions from Finansinspektionen’s (FI) survey of new consumer credit with data from 2021.
SIP Nordic Fondkommission AB (SIP Nordic) is receiving a warning and must pay an administrative fine of SEK 6.7 million.
Celina Fondförvaltning AB (Celina) is receiving a warning and must pay an administrative fine of SEK 10 million.
When purchasing a mobile telephone, TV or appliances, for example, you often receive an offer to buy insurance for the newly purchased item. FI will now review whether so-called product insurances create unnecessary costs for customers without providing extra protection.
Finansinspektionen has analysed whether loyal policyholders pay higher premiums for the three non-life insurance products that are most important for consumers: home insurance (contents), home insurance (building) and private car insurance. The analysis shows that premiums for home insurance (contents) are raised significantly more for loyal customers than for new customers. The premiums for home insurance (building) also are raised more for loyal customers, but this does not apply to private car insurance.
Svea Bank is being issued a remark and must pay an administrative fine of SEK 45 million.
Resurs Bank is being issued a remark and must pay an administrative fine of SEK 50 million.
Svea Ekonomi, which has now merged with Svea Bank, and Resurs Bank have been deficient in their credit assessments of consumers who received large unsecured loans. Both banks are therefore receiving a remark and an administrative fine of SEK 45 million and SEK 50 million, respectively.
Finansinspektionen views seriously the complaints from consumers who have been denied a bank account, and the authority is now encouraging banks to carefully maintain data on how many people are experiencing problems opening an account. This data will give a clearer overview of the situation and help find solutions.
Nordnet Bank is being issued a remark and must pay an administrative fine of SEK 100 million.
Finansinspektionen (FI) is issuing Nordnet Bank AB a remark for violations related to the bank's intraday short selling service. Nordnet must also pay an administrative fine of SEK 100 million.
Finansinspektionen (FI) is appointing an auditor to map the IT incident that occured at Swedbank AB during the night between 28 and 29 April and resulted in incorrect balances being shown in customers’ accounts.
Finansinspektionen has invited several banks to a roundtable discussion on Friday, 20 May, on the right to open payment accounts. The background is that the number of complaints FI is receiving from consumers who are being denied a payment account is increasing. Some also have their accounts blocked or closed.
The financial sector must quickly become better at preventing and handling cyber threats. Customers and society at large must be able to trust that the critical services offered by financial corporations will function even during periods of uncertainty and in the presence of threats. As commissioned by the government, Finansinspektionen (FI) therefore has proposed a number of measures to increase resilience to cyber attacks in the financial sector.
Unsound lending practices and commission from the sale of financial instruments are the highest prioritised risks in Finansinspektionen’s (FI) consumer protection assignment for 2022.
Are banks correct in refusing to open accounts for certain consumers? And what role do credit intermediaries play in many consumers taking large unsecured loans? These are two of the issues that Finansinspektionen (FI) will look more closely at in 2022 and that we present in this year's Consumer Protection Report.
New mortgagors took out loans that were 12 per cent larger last year than in 2020. The average loan-to-value ratio for new mortgagors rose from 307 to 327 per cent. This is the highest figure since FI started its mortgage survey. The stricter amortisation requirement has slowed rising loan-to-income ratios. The high debt means that borrowers’ personal finances are under more pressure when interest rates rise.
Swedish households continue to take increasingly larger loans. More new mortgagors than in previous years had both a high loan-to-income ratio and a high loan-to-value ratio. Higher inflation and rising interest rates mean that mortgagors have smaller margins in their personal finances. This decreases the consumption capacity at the same time as the mortgagors’ ability to repay their loan is impaired.
Insurance companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland raise their premiums more for loyal customers than they do for policyholders who change their provider frequently. Finansinspektionen (FI) will now look more closely at what happens in Sweden for home and auto insurance customers.
On 1 February, Susanna Grufman will become the executive director of FI’s Markets section. She will continue to serve as the deputy director general and maintain responsibility for consumer protection matters.
” Ultimately, this is about energy efficiency. Energy is a scarce resource, and as a society, we have invested heavily in energy-efficiency improvements across all sectors. We need to consider a similar technology shift for crypto-assets.”
There are different types of lenders. They offer different types of loans, and their risk tolerance varies. The risk tolerance is evident in their business model, which consists in part of how they conduct their credit assessment. There are also different types of borrowers. Some want small loans, and others want big loans. Both the lender’s credit assessment and the borrower’s repayment capacity are often better for large loans. The small loans represent a large share of early repayment problems – reminders and collection notices. But the borrower can often pay back small loans before they are registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
Borrowers of consumer credits have higher incomes and pay less for their loans in relation to their income compared to previous years. But we are seeing deficiencies in the credit assessment, and many borrowers are still receiving collection notices. Young borrowers are still overrepresented among those that experience early repayment problems. These are the conclusions from this year’s consumer credit survey.
One of Finansinspektionen’s (FI) assignments is to promote a high level of protection for consumers on the financial markets. FI does this in part by conducting an annual survey of new consumer credit. The survey helps enhance our understanding of consumer credit and the risks it entails for borrowers. Loans and loan service payments have a major impact on household finances. For a borrower with an average income that takes out a large consumer credit, the monthly payment for the interest and amortisation payments can correspond to the payment of a significantly larger mortgage.
Finansinspektionen (FI) is withdrawing the authorisation of securities company Nord Fondkommision AB (Nord) due to severe deficiencies in the company’s advisory activities and other areas. This decision means that the company must cease all regulated activities. As a result, it may no longer provide financial advice or sell financial products. The decision will be presented by FI Director General Erik Thedéen and Chief Legal Counsel Eric Leijonram at a press conference today, Wednesday, 13 October, at 10:00 AM.
Finansinspektionen (FI) is withdrawing all of Nord Fondkommission AB’s (Nord) authorisations due to severe deficiencies, in part in the company’s advisory services.