In 2020, mortgage applications in Italy grew by 2.8%. Significant contraction in loans (-17.9%)

As often happens during times of uncertainty, Italians consumers erred on the side of caution in the year just ended. Personal loans suffered the most from the coronavirus crisis and have not yet shown any signs of recovery, while consumer credit and mortgages started to pick up in the 2020 post-lockdown period, only to stagnate again from October with the second wave of epidemic.

Specifically, CRIF’s Credit Barometer shows a 24.7% drop in personal loan applications and a 13.5% decrease in retail finance for the purchase of goods and services, alongside a 2.8% increase in applications for mortgages and subrogations, with the latter resulting in a positive performance for the sector.

2020 was also characterized by a conflicting trend in the average amounts requested, which for mortgages was €133,577 (+2.0% on the previous year), compared to €6,706 for retail finance (-1.5% compared to 2019), and €12,498 for personal loans (-2.3%).

Assuming no further influencing factors emerge in 2021, the demand for loans and mortgages is expected to recover, helped by the prospect of an upturn in consumption and by attractive interest rates. However, given the worsening of the risk in the sector, which started to increase again in the latter part of 2020, banking and financial lending policies are likely to be marked by a certain degree of caution.