Small installments, smaller amounts: this is why the rise in interest rates slows down the requests for loans

The amount requested by those applying for personal loans has dropped. It is the effect of the rate hike that has pushed up the cost of financing by 31% due to liquidity needs, for the purchase of a car or perhaps to pay for a trip. The continuous increases in the cost of money by the European Central Bank (ECB) have left loans more expensive by a third if compared with those twelve months earlier. Despite these increases, households continue to borrow money, but to cope with the increase in installments they are oriented towards smaller amounts. According to the joint observatory of Facile.it and Prestiti.it, in May the average amount requested from credit companies for a personal loan was 10,474 euros, a value down by 4% compared to the same month in 2022.

But what are the reasons why Italians get into debt? According to the analysis, the need for liquidity is the first reason (32%); followed by personal loan requests for the purchase of used cars (16%) and those for debt consolidation (15%). There is no shortage of age differences: twenty-year-olds, for example, are those who ask, as a percentage, more loans for the purchase of used cars, training and for travel and holidays, thirty-year-olds to get married, over 50s for homes and expenses medical.

Identification of the applicant

More in detail, looking at the profile of the applicants, it emerges that those who applied for funding were, at the time of signing, on average 42 years old, a slight increase compared to last year; those under 35 represent a third of applicants (33.5%), while the share of applicants over 54 has increased, from 16% to 19% of the total.

By analyzing the age ranges more closely, important differences emerge with respect to the reasons why Italians turn to a credit company: the under 26s, for example, are the category that requests, in percentage terms, the most loans for the purchase of used cars , training and for travel and holidays. Loans for weddings are requested more by those aged between 25 and 34, while loans for home renovations and for medical expenses are more requested by those over 54. Cash loans, which represent the the most widespread type of personal loan ever, they are more frequent among the over 45s.

The differences between men and women are still important; in most cases a man (72%) is applying for funding. It must be said, however, that the female sample has increased slightly and, in one year, has gone from 25% to 28% of the total.

The gender difference also emerges by looking at the amounts requested: men aim, on average, to obtain personal loans of an amount equal to 10,700 euros, i.e. 10% more than what women ask for. Among the reasons that affect this diversity there is also a component of an income nature, as confirmed by the data of the analysis: the average monthly salary declared by the men who have applied for a loan is equal to 2,155 euros, i.e. 23% higher than that of the female sample.