Consumer credit provided by banks and financial companies to Italian consumer families approached 178 billion euros. For comparison: nine years ago this figure was much lower. The increase was 62 percent, equal, in absolute terms, to approximately +68 billion. This was reported by the CGIA Research Office, according to which this notable leap “says a lot about changes in spending habits and, above all, in the economic capacity of families”. If we add the 447.5 billion in mortgages for the purchase of a home that 3.8 million families have taken out with credit institutions and other forms of residual loans to the consumer credit provided by the banks alone (127 billion euros) and other forms of residual loans, the overall debt rises to 612.6 billion euros. We would like to point out, purely statistically, that in 2025 the mortgages taken out in Italy for the purchase of a property were 382,389: the region that took out the most was Lombardy with 93,994. Veneto follows with 39,753 and Emilia Romagna with 38,453.
– MORE DEBTS? TO DEAL WITH UNEXPECTED EVENTS AND PURCHASE GOODS
But why are Italians getting more and more into debt? There are mainly two reasons. On the one hand there are those who need immediate liquidity, perhaps to deal with unexpected expenses or to make ends meet. On the other hand, there are those who take out a loan to purchase durable goods: a new car, a television, furniture, household appliances, all those important purchases that were once made with savings. Behind these numbers we don’t always glimpse the economic hardship that an important part of the country is experiencing. However, in recent years the increase in inflation has progressively eroded the purchasing power of Italians: for many, salaries and pensions have remained essentially unchanged, while the prices of goods and services have skyrocketed. The result is that many families, especially from the so-called middle class, have found themselves forced to resort to credit to maintain the same standard of living as before, thus fueling the growth in private debt towards banks and financial institutions that the numbers clearly show.
– RATES RISING
In recent years, more and more people have resorted to short-term loans to deal with unexpected events and temporary difficulties. In the Eurozone, rates are not fixed: they fluctuate based on the decisions of the ECB, the trend of inflation and the general economic context. Understanding whether the average APR3 is rising or falling is useful for deciding whether it is better to wait or move immediately to request a mortgage or loan. In fact, when the APR rises, the credit becomes more expensive not only due to the interest rate itself, but also due to the additional costs that accompany it. The result can be seen directly on the account: higher installments and a higher total amount to be repaid. Looking at consumer credit, the increase in APR in recent years has been notable. It went from 7.64 percent in 2021 to constant growth up to 10.16 in 2023. In the following two years it fluctuated around 10 percent, but in July this year it rose to 10.38 percent. If between the end of 2025 and July 2026 the APR applied on the purchase of a house remained unchanged, that of consumer credit increased by 41 basis points (see Chart 4). A boost that came above all from the inflationary flare-ups that hit the Eurozone, to which the ECB responded by raising the refinancing rate, today to 2.65 percent.
– SHORT-TERM DEBTS: POSITIVE IF THEY ARE WELL BELOW THE REAL INCOME
We know that family consumption constitutes approximately 60 percent of Italian GDP. For this reason, as we underlined above, when families get into short-term debt (for example with loans or credit cards), the effect can be interpreted in two opposite ways. On the one hand, it is a positive sign: people have more access to credit, they spend more and this helps the economy grow. On the other hand, however, it can hide a problem: if debt increases faster than salaries, it means that families are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet and are relying on loans to support themselves. The important thing to keep an eye on is therefore the relationship between how much families have to pay back and how much they actually earn. As long as this ratio remains manageable, there is no need to worry too much. But if it exceeds certain limits, the risk grows that many families will no longer be able to pay their debts, with negative consequences for the entire economy.