Aurimas Vaška, a contractor from Kaunas, took out a 6000 euro consumer loan in the spring of 2022 to cover a bathroom renovation he had been putting off for two years. At the time, his bank quoted him a rate of 11.4 percent APR, which he accepted without shopping around because the process was straightforward and the monthly payment of just under 140 euros felt manageable against his income. He didn't think much about the rate after that, paid his installments, and generally ignored the…

A Romanian software engineer I spoke to last year had been living in Amsterdam for three years, paid rent on time every month, held a permanent contract with a Dutch employer, and still got rejected for a 5000 euro personal loan from his local bank. The reason, according to the letter he received, was insufficient credit history. He had plenty of credit history back in Romania, including a mortgage he'd paid off early, but the Dutch lender couldn't see any of it. The BKR, which is the Dutch…

On January 28 this year, a coalition of credit union bodies gathered at Westminster to launch what they’re calling the Credit Union Growth Plan, a document that lays out how the sector intends to double its membership from 2.2 million to 4.4 million over the next decade and, in doing so, unlock something like 6.4 billion pounds in additional annual economic growth. The ambition is significant, and I think it needs to be, because by almost any international comparison, the UK’s credit union…

February 2025 was the biggest month for mortgage lending in Lithuanian history, with banks issuing nearly 240 million euros in new housing loans, which is 92 percent more than the same month a year earlier. That number alone tells you something about where the market is heading, but it only captures part of what is actually happening in the country’s real estate sector right now.

Lithuania's housing loan sector is experiencing significant changes that are shaping a new borrowing culture. Since new real estate credit regulation requirements took effect in May, loan applicants have become notably more active in considering their interest rate options. The legislative amendment that came into force in May fundamentally transforms the housing loan provision process. Major credit providers are now required to present both interest rate options to each client: variable and…