Swedish households are experiencing fewer payment issues, marking a significant improvement after the crisis years. Recent data from Kronofogden shows a decline in debt claims, following a peak in 2023-2024. The reduction is attributed to stricter lending regulations and improved credit assessment practices. However, experts emphasize the need for responsible lending and borrowing to sustain this positive trend.
Turning Point: Debt Claims in Sweden Decline
Turning Point: Debt Claims in Sweden Decline
Payment issues among Swedish households are clearly decreasing after the crisis years, according to semi-annual figures from Kronofogden.
The decline follows the years 2023-2024, when the influx of applications for payment orders to Kronofogden rose to the highest level since the major Swedish banking crisis of the 1990s.
– We are very highly leveraged in Sweden and are very sensitive to interest rates and inflation. So this affects our economic everyday life a lot, says Davor Vuleta.
Unpaid Loans and Credits
It is often debt collection companies that are behind the actual application for a payment order with Kronofogden. But analyses conducted by Kronofogden show that one-third of the applications concern unpaid loans, credits, and credit card claims, and these demands account for two-thirds of the total amount being collected.
Legal requirements for banking licenses to lend money, as well as new cost and interest caps, have mitigated the problems with so-called quick loans, according to Davor Vuleta. However, he calls for better credit assessment routines among lenders.
– The lender must take responsibility and not lend money to people who should not have loans, he says.
– And in the end, the individual who borrows must also take responsibility for their own personal finances. It is a collaboration that is required, he adds.
Belief in Sustained Trend
Unpaid mobile bills or bills for healthcare and social services are two other major categories among applications for payment orders, as well as bills for electricity, gas, heating, and cooling.
– They are paid to a greater extent because they are for smaller amounts and there is an incentive to pay. If you do not pay the mobile bill, the mobile service will be shut off.
Davor Vuleta believes that the downward trend in applications for payment orders with Kronofogden can continue.
– Our forecasts show that the number of claims with Kronofogden will decrease – unless something unforeseen happens.