Consumer lending in Lithuania is growing at the fastest pace among eurozone countries, according to data from the Bank of Lithuania (LB). In the first five months of this year, nearly €770 million in consumer loans were issued – double the amount compared to the same period last year.
“The growth is more in the size of consumer loans rather than in the number of new loans issued,” Arnoldas Bytautas, an economist at the LB’s Macroprudential Analysis Division, told LRT RADIO on Wednesday. “This suggests that rising prices and possibly increasing household purchasing power – with wages having grown quite rapidly in recent years – are enabling people to take out more small-scale credit for minor household purchases or home repairs. Larger loan commitments remain less common.”
According to Bytautas, the average size of consumer credit has increased by 22% to 24% compared to a few years ago.
“At the beginning of 2022 – before interest rate hikes and structural changes in the banking sector – the average consumer loan was around €2,100 to €2,200,” he said. “By the end of last year, that figure had risen to €3,100.”
One factor contributing to the sharp rise in consumer loans since 2022, Bytautas noted, is the inclusion of data from Revolut, which became a licensed bank and began reporting its consumer lending figures as part of the national statistics.
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