Norway Loan Debt Rises to Over 2-Year High

Norway’s general public domestic loan debt rose 4.4% year-on-year to NOK 7.81 billion at the end of December 2025 from a 3.9% gain in November, marking the highest level since May 2023. Credit expansion accelerated for non-financial corporations’ debt (2.9% vs 1.7% in November), and household debt (4.8% vs 4.5%), while municipal government held steady at 6.7%. Looking at the annualised one-month growth in December, general public debt surged 7% from 3.2% in the prior month. Household debt increased to 5.9% from 4.8%, municipal government debt rose to 5.1% from 0.5%, and non-financial corporations’ debt picked up to 9.8% from 1.1%.

The general public’s domestic loan debt in Norway rose by 3.9% year-on-year to NOK 7.79 billion at the end of November 2025, matching the pace seen in the previous two months. This remained the softest growth since March, as loan debt growth in municipal government eased (6.7% vs 7.4% in October), which more than offset increases in loan debt among households (4.5% vs 4.4%) and non-financial corporations (1.8% vs 1.7%). Looking at the annualised one-month growth in November, the data indicated a 3.3% increase for the general public, slowing from a 4.2% growth in October.

The general public’s domestic loan debt in Norway increased by 3.9% year-on-year, reaching NOK 7.76 trillion at the end of October 2025, in line with the revised figure reported for the previous month. This remained the slowest pace of loan growth since March, as credit expansion remained steady for non-financial corporations at 1.7% and for households at 4.4%. In contrast, loan growth accelerated for the municipal government, rising to 7.4% from 6.9% in the prior period. Looking at the annualised one-month growth in October, the data indicated a 4.1% increase for the general public, following a 1.9% rise in September. Municipal government lending surged by 11.4% compared with a decline of 5.8% previously, non-financial corporations saw a 1.2% increase from a 1.2% decrease, and household lending growth eased to 4.4% from 5%.