OREANDA-NEWS. May 21, 2014. A poll conducted by the Citadele Bank and Snapshot.lv suggests that the vast majority of Latvia's residents would be willing to take a consumption loan for purchases, trips or other purposes in the amount of up to 1000 euros.

Most of the respondents also claimed that would borrow responsibly and be able to repay such loans without difficulties.

More than a third of the respondents (36%) would be willing to borrow up to 500 euros whereas another 17% would borrow sums ranging between 500 and 1000 euros, suggests the poll. Some 5% of the respondents would be willing to borrow sums between 1001 and 1500 euros, and an identical part of the respondents would opt for sums ranging between 1500 and 2000 euros. Willingness to borrow sums exceeding 2000 euros was expressed by 10% of the respondents. Approximately one fourth (27%) said they did not know what sum they would be willing to borrow.

"Comparing the sums that people borrow for consumption between the years, the average consumption loan sum issued by the Citadele Bank this year has increased to 2000 euros, as opposed to the last year's average of 1500 euros. Borrowers plan to repay such sums within two to three years," explains Dace Priede, Head of Retail Customers and SME Services Directorate at the Citadele Bank.

According to the poll data, 5% of the respondents would be willing to take a loan twice or three times as large as their monthly salaries whereas 3% would be willing to opt for a loan four times bigger than their monthly income; another 3% of the respondents would consider borrowing a sum which exceeds four monthly salaries.

"Consumer loans offer a great range of options: one can borrow small sums as well as large ones - amounting to several monthly salaries. However our observations show that the majority of the population thoroughly considers the amount of their loan liabilities," points out Dace Priede. "The amount of the consumption loan the bank grants to a client depends on his/her income. The bank also assesses existing loan liabilities. In order to avoid a loan turning into a burden it is important for the monthly loan liabilities not to exceed 30% of the total monthly income."

The repayment period for consumption loans can be selected so that paying back does not cause difficulties; for example, one can select a longer repayment period for a larger loan sum. The poll also suggests that people would be likely to borrow responsibly and be able to repay loans without difficulties. The majority of respondents (37%) indicated that the maximum total amount of a consumption loan they would be able to repay without any problems would equal to a maximum of 30% of their monthly income.

11% of respondents stated that they would repay a loan in the amount of 30-50% of their monthly income without difficulties whereas another 10% suggested that repaying a loan in the amount of 51-100% of their monthly income would not cause problems for them. Some 26% of the respondents said they did not know what would be the maximum loan sum they would be able to repay without difficulties.

The poll suggests that women are more cautious borrowers: nearly one half (47%) of female respondents were convinced that they could repay a loan which doesn't exceed 30% of their monthly income without any problems. Only 27% of male respondents gave the same answer to this question.

The poll was conducted in March 2014 among the residents of Latvia ranging between 18 and 74 years of age. A total of 803 respondents were polled.