The Danske Bank Group has launched its first socially responsible product for students with children: The Danske Parent Study Loan.
The loan is intended to provide support for a financially disadvantaged group in our society. It is offered at a very low interest rate, and a special advisory service is linked to the loan. The purpose of the advisory service is to improve the students’ financial literacy so that they have a better chance of meeting their financial challenges. The product is part of the Group’s Programme for Financial Literacy and Education Investment.
In 2008, we carried out a study of 2,000 students and students with children in all the Group’s markets. We wished to gain an understanding of how students with children view their financial situation. One quarter of the students did not think they could afford to give their children as varied and nourishing a diet as they wished to, and one out of five considered dropping out of school for that reason. The study also showed that nine out of ten students with children thought that 1,000 kroner a month would make a difference.
The Danske Parent Study Loan has a very low variable compound interest rate of 2.02%, with a fixed monthly disbursement of 1,000 kroner for a maximum of six years. Our objective was to offer a responsible lending product with a limited monthly amount so that there would be no risk of excessive consumption. The period of the loan reflects the time remaining in the student’s course of study. After the disbursement period, the student has a grace period of two years at the same advantageously low interest rate. This will give students with children an opportunity to stabilise their finances so that they can repay the loan afterwards. After the grace period, the loan must normally be repaid over three years at Danske Bank’s lowest interest rate for personal customers.
Last updated/revised on August 7, 2007