The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has extended the temporary 95% maximum loan-to-collateral ratio for housing loans other than first-home loans, continuing the five-percentage-point easing introduced in July to limit the housing market downturn. The first-home loan cap remains at its standard 95%, while the countercyclical capital buffer for banks stays at 0.0%. The authority said the housing market remains weak despite a pickup in the Finnish economy and intends to restore the non-first-home cap to its standard 90% when the departure is no longer warranted. Credit cycle indicators continue to show little risk of overheating. The broad private sector credit-to-gross domestic product gap fell to minus 21.5 percentage points in the first quarter of 2026, while the gap based on a narrower credit measure declined to minus 13.1 percentage points. The authority will also continue reciprocating Denmark’s updated 7% sector-specific systemic risk buffer for certain Finnish banks’ exposures to Danish real estate companies, reflecting minor scope changes to the Danish measure and supporting consistent treatment across Nordic markets.
Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority extends 95% housing loan cap, keeps countercyclical buffer at 0% and reciprocates Denmark’s 7% real estate buffer
The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority extended the temporarily eased 95% loan-to-collateral cap for non-first-home housing loans as Finland’s housing market remains in a downturn. It kept the first-home cap at 95% and the countercyclical capital buffer at 0.0%. Finnish banks will also remain subject to Denmark’s updated 7% systemic risk buffer for certain Danish real estate exposures.