Italian consumer debt nears 178 billion euros after 62% rise over nine years

Expansion of Italian consumer debt

Italian consumer credit issued by banks and financial institutions approached 178 billion euros in 2025, according to a report by the CGIA Mestre research office. Over a nine-year period, consumer borrowing rose by 62%, equivalent to an absolute increase of approximately 68 billion euros. The average consumer debt per Italian household reached 6,657 euros, representing an increase of 4.9% compared to 2024. When combining 127 billion euros in bank-issued consumer loans with 447.5 billion euros in home mortgages held by 3.8 million households, overall household financial liabilities reached 612.6 billion euros. Long-term property mortgages are evaluated separately from consumer debt by the research institute because they represent asset-building investments.

Regional disparities across Italy

Consumer debt levels show substantial variation across Italian regions and administrative provinces. Families in Umbria carry the highest average short-term liability at 7,514 euros per household, up 5.1% from 2024. Tuscany follows at 7,399 euros per household (a 5.6% increase), while Sicilian households average 7,383 euros (up 4.5%). In contrast, households in Friuli Venezia Giulia averaged 5,845 euros (up 4.9%), Basilicata recorded 5,536 euros (up 3.7%), and Trentino Alto Adige registered the lowest regional level at 3,824 euros (up 5.7%). At the provincial level, Siracusa registered the highest debt per family at 8,437 euros, followed by Massa-Carrara at 8,373 euros, Lodi at 8,280 euros, and Pistoia at 8,168 euros. The largest annual percentage increases occurred in Pistoia and Ravenna, both rising 7.1%, whereas Bolzano recorded the lowest provincial debt at 3,106 euros, preceded by Sondrio at 4,400 euros and Trento at 4,524 euros.

Economic pressures and consumption drivers

The report identified two primary factors driving the ongoing reliance on consumer financing. First, households seek short-term cash to cover unforeseen emergencies or to bridge deficits between income and living expenses at the end of the month. Second, families regularly turn to installment plans to purchase durable goods, including new cars, televisions, furniture, and domestic appliances, which were previously acquired through accumulated personal savings. Persistent inflation in recent years eroded real household purchasing power while wage and pension levels remained largely flat, pushing middle-class households toward debt to maintain their living standards. CGIA representative Paolo Zabeo addressed the underlying financial pressures.

A notable leap that says a lot about changes in spending habits and, above all, in the economic capacity of families.

Household spending accounts for approximately 60% of Italian gross domestic product, making the balance between credit expansion and family debt repayment capacity a central economic factor.

Rising borrowing costs and mortgage volumes

The cost of consumer financing increased sharply over recent years in response to European monetary tightening. The annual percentage rate of charge (TAEG) on consumer credit increased from 7.64% in 2021 to 10.16% in 2023, subsequently hovering near 10% before climbing to 10.38% in July 2026. This reflected a 41 basis point increase between late 2025 and July 2026, driven by European Central Bank rate hikes that brought the main refinancing rate to 2.65%. In contrast, TAEG rates for home purchases remained stable over that same period. Across the mortgage market, Italian households took out 382,389 new residential property loans in 2025, with Lombardy recording the highest volume at 93,994 contracts, followed by Veneto with 39,753 and Emilia Romagna with 38,453.