Obligationslån (bond-based mortgage)

A realkredit loan is a bond loan: the institution issues bonds and sells them to investors, and you borrow their money. The bond price (kurs) fluctuates, and if it is below 100 when you take the loan, you receive less than you owe. The gap is your kurstab (price loss).

The loan is not funded from the bank’s own balance sheet but by bonds in the market. This is called the balance principle and is why realkredit is a cheap type of loan.

The price moves with demand. High demand gives a high price and a lower rate to you, low demand gives a lower price.

Take a loan of 1 mio. kr. at kurs 98 and you receive 980,000 kr. but owe 1 mio. kr. The 2 points are your kurstab.

A fixed rate follows 30-year bonds, while a variable loan follows shorter bonds that are re-issued at each rate reset.