Accessible summary : Now is the time to deploy the rainy day buffers

Abstract

The corona crisis has impacted negatively on the Finnish economy and on the country’s banks and their customers in a number of ways. The banks now need to deploy the financial buffers they have been accumulating since the global financial crisis just over a decade ago. By granting new loans and amortisation holidays, the banks can for their part help businesses and households survive the acute phase of the current crisis. At the same time, banks must prepare for an increase in loan losses from previously granted loans.