According to an analysis conducted by the comparison portal Verivox, women frequently face disadvantages when seeking loans compared to men. The study, reported by the newspapers of the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” revealed that women typically pay higher interest rates, receive smaller loan amounts, and have their credit applications rejected more often.
Specifically, the average interest rate for installment loans stands at 6.77 percent for women, in contrast to just 6.39 percent for men. Verivox performed this analysis on all installment loans finalized through the comparison portal in July 2026. The average approved loan amount for women was found to be €14,382, whereas men received an average of €17,509. Furthermore, banks rejected credit inquiries from women 15 percent more frequently than those from men.
Economics professor Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi attributes this disadvantage primarily to differences in salary. The financial expert, who studies gender disparities in the financial markets, suggested that the key factor contributing to these differing lending costs is the difference in financial starting conditions, rather than direct discrimination. Because women still earn less than men and often work part-time, banks frequently assess them as being less creditworthy. Lower creditworthiness increases the risk of default for the loan, which is why banks demand higher interest rates.
Legally, banks are prohibited from basing their lending decisions on personal characteristics such as gender, origin, religion, or age, in order to protect vulnerable groups from discrimination. Instead, financial institutions must base their decisions on objective evaluation criteria, such as income and employment status (e.g., whether the contract is temporary or permanent). Additionally, external credit assessments are factored in, such as the Schufa score, which calculates the likelihood of a potential payment default based on twelve factors.
