In the first months of this year, there was an increased interest of the population in consumer credit loans to cover various medical expenses, according to information from Luminor Bank.
The average loan amount for these purposes reaches 4,000 euros.
Compared to 2020, when the Latvian population most often applied for consumer loans for repairs and property improvement works, currently customers admit that more and more often additional funds are needed to cover various medical expenses. The most frequently allocated funds are used for dental-related services, as well as for various planned surgeries, manipulations and examinations.
“The year 2021 has introduced some adjustments – if last year remote work encouraged people to actively focus on improving their housing, this year more and more loans are needed to allow people to perform various medical procedures and manipulations. Dentistry, meanwhile, is still not a cheap service, especially orthodontics, so turning to a bank is often the only way for people to get the financial help they need. The assumption is accepted wisely, “says Kaspars Lukačovs, Luminor Bank ‘s lending manager in the Baltics.
As concluded in the 2019 report of the European Commission on the Latvian health system, not only the limited availability of medical services, but also their costs is still one of the main challenges of the state.
In general, Latvians are more often than the average European forced to pay for medical services themselves, and data from the Central Statistical Bureau also show that the amount of costs for medical treatment continues to grow. For example, in 2016, approximately 6.6% of total household expenditure was allocated to medical expenses, while in 2019, payments for health care already reached 7.1% of the household budget.
In addition to covering medical expenses, Latvians most often apply for a consumer loan to improve their housing, finance their hobbies and leisure activities, as well as to purchase electrical appliances. The average repayment period of a consumer loan reaches 38 months.
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