Analytics, Banks, Employment, Financial Services
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Thursday, 18.06.2026, 09:58
Swedbank Estonia: employment rate has failed to recover and consumers are still cautious
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“As for the employment rate, /…/ there is no breakthrough in trends, people do not really believe that the situation has improved,” she said.
According to Ilisson, customers of the bank have become cautious and are increasingly saving money. In the first three months of this year, the savings volumes grew by nearly 4% in the year-on-year comparison. “This is a major growth,” she noted.
The bank estimates that on one hand this trend is caused by the transition to the euro and the related fears concerning price growth, on the other hand this is caused by the recent experience with the economic crisis.
“The crisis has made many people understand the importance of having savings. And this is undoubtedly a very important notion in our society,” said Ilisson.
Consumers’ cautiousness is also clearly reflected on the real estate market. “People are not prepared to make decisions concerning their housing. Customers are more frequently taking small loans and credit cards while there is no clear invigoration in the segment of housing loans,” described Ilisson.
According to Swedbank, the volume of small loans grew by 17% in April in the year-on-year comparison and the growth in credit cards was 22%. The increase in new loans in total, on the other hand, decelerated a little – both in the segment of housing loans and in individuals’ car leasing contracts.
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