The debt burden for households with the highest income (decile 10) has fallen markedly since the banking crisis. This is partly due to changes in the tax system at the end of the 1980s which led to a reduction in tax deductions for interest expenses, especially for high-income groups, and changes in the tax system in 1992. Debt is also unevenly distributed by age. In recent years, the debt burden has increased substantially in the younger age groups. The debt burden for the age group 25-34 is approaching the level prevailing at the time of the banking crisis. The rise in the debt burden must be seen in connection with the fact that they are in the start-up phase and with the rise in house prices. The high debt burden makes these groups vulnerable in the event of an interest rate increase. III. Consumer credit  Banks’ and finance companies’ exposures to household loans depend in part on whether loans are secured. Good collateral provides a buffer against losses and is therefore advantageous for a robust financial system. Mortgage loans account for the majority of household borrowing. The share of housing loans has increased since 1996, whereas the share of other repayment loans, which may be unsecured or secured with collateral in the form of a car or boat, has declined. Other loans include construction loans, bank overdrafts, operating credit, leasing and factoring. Their share is virtually unchanged. Norges Bank’s statistics do not provide the basis for estimating the total scope of unsecured loans.
The combination of a lot of money to be invested and low risk-free interest rates contributed to an increase in the demand for assets that were profitable to invest in and led to an intensified hunt for high yield. This type of environment often inspires great inventiveness in the financial markets and many new financial instruments were also created. These were often complex and difficult to valuate correctly. But in the optimistic climate prevailing then – everything had gone so well for so long – it was nevertheless easy to sell them. Those who invested in the new instruments disregarded, or failed to sufficiently understand, the risks that were “inbuilt” in them. The financial supervisory authorities and regulations also lagged behind this development. The problems in the international financial markets began to become more apparent as early as summer 2007. But the Swedish economy and the Swedish financial markets long appeared able to manage fairly well, despite the fact that the turbulence was having more and more effects on the world around us. Of course, economic activity in Sweden began to weaken as international economic activity declined, but this did not initially seem to entail any very serious downturn. However, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September  BIS Review 73/2009  1  2008 the situation worsened dramatically. The confidence that had existed between financial institutions was shaken to its foundations when no one was certain who might be next in line to default on their payments.