Norway debt registry to protect people from "luxury trap"

Morrow Bank ASA

22/06/2018 12:36

OSLO, June 22 (Reuters) - Two firms have won permission to
collect information on the credit card debt and other unsecured
loans held by each of Norway's citizens in order to prevent
excessive borrowing, the government said on Friday.
    Norsk Gjeldsinformasjon AS and Gjeldsregisteret AS will each
be allowed to collect the data in order to give banks a better
basis for processing mortgage applications, thus preventing
customers from taking on more debt than they can repay.
    "The government's goal is to prevent Norwegian consumers
from falling into the luxury trap," the Ministry of Finance and
the Ministry of Children and Equality said in a joint statement.
    The non-mortgage banking sector has seen rapid growth in
recent years, leaving many borrowers with high debts despite
government efforts to limit the growth in debt.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nO9N1S202L
    The average Norwegian household now has debt of some 225
percent of disposable income, the third-highest among OECD
member countries, leading to fear it may pose a risk to
financial stability.
    Norsk Gjeldsinformasjon is owned by banking industry
association Finance Norway, while Gjeldsregisteret is owned by
Oslo-listed Evry  EVRY.OL .
    Top mortgage lenders in Norway include, among others, DNB
 DNB.OL , Nordea  NDA.ST  and Danske Bank  DANSKE.CO . Leading
providers of unsecured consumer loans include Norwegian Finans
Holding  NOFI.OL , Komplett Bank  KOMPBK.OL  and Monobank
 MONO-ME.OL .

 (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70; Reuters
Messaging: terje.solsvik.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))