The Norwegian State Housing Bank ( no, Husbanken) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Government agency responsible for the

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

politics in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The main tool for the bank is

mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

in newly constructed houses. About half of all houses after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in Norway have been financed by the Housing Bank. The agency is based in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

and was created by a 1946 law. Total assets were NOK 102 billion in 2002. As such, it is one of the largest banks of Norway. The bank has three distinct goals: # Stimulation to achieve a well functioning housing market. # Provision of housing for groups that are disadvantaged on the housing market. # Increase the number of environmentally friendly and universally designed dwellings and residential areas.

References

Government agencies of Norway Banks of Norway Banks established in 1946 1946 establishments in Norway {{Norway-gov-stub