Interest rates on student loans will increase fivefold next year, according to calculations by FD (the Dutch financial daily). Photo Taiki Ishikawa / Unsplash Interest rates on student loans will increase fivefold from 0.46 to approximately 2.55 per cent next year, according to calculations by the Financieele Dagblad. Student organisations demand an interest cap.
The new interest rate means that students with an average debt of 20,300 euros will pay some 517 euros in interest annually. The cabinet will release its own calculations in the course of this fall.
The interest rate is linked to the interest rate that applies to Dutch government loans from October to October. Interest rates were negative for many years but have gone up substantially since mid-2021.
Who is affected
The new rate does not apply to everyone. DUO fixes the interest rate for a five-year period to ensure that those repaying know what to expect. Graduates who have begun repaying this year will pay the 1.46 per cent interest rate for another four years, after which a new rate will apply to their loan. The new interest rate applies to students who are currently borrowing money and not yet repaying. This means that their debt will increase faster.
Another blow
The Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg and National Student Union call it the umpteenth financial blow for students and call for an interest cap. One year ago, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said a cap was out of the question for now. But this possibility has been included in several election programmes.
