ASP account

Save with an ASP account to buy your first home.

An easy and rewarding way to save for your first home

Save 10% of the price of your first home in an ASP account and you can receive an ASP loan to buy the home. Start by saving as little as 50 euros a month.

Exceptionally high interest rate on savings towards buying a first home

In addition to the annual deposit rate, your ASP savings will be increased by generous bonus interest when you buy your first home. The OP cooperative bank's owner-customers will also earn OP bonuses on their savings in the ASP account.

Better loan terms and conditions for ASP savers

You may be entitled to a ten-year interest subsidy and a free state guarantee on your ASP loan or part of it.

Open an ASP account

The key to the first home of your own – what is an ASP account?

An ASP (home saver’s bonus interest) account is a convenient and rewarding way to save for the first home of your own. It offers a better interest rate on your savings. Once you’ve saved the required amount and are ready to buy a home, you can take out an ASP loan with attractive terms and conditions. As an owner-customer of your OP cooperative bank, you will also earn OP bonuses on the money in your ASP account.

How do I open an ASP account?

Opening an ASP account is easy. Use your OP user ID to log into the op.fi service and start saving for your first home today. Alternatively, you can book an appointment or call our Customer Service for advice on becoming an ASP saver.

Who is the ASP savings scheme for? 

Saving with an ASP account is ideal for you if you are dreaming of buying your first home and you are 15–44 years old. You should start saving well in advance, even if you don’t plan to buy a home for several years. You won’t need a regular income to start saving with the ASP scheme.

How does the ASP savings scheme work?

  • You make the first deposit into your ASP account when you open it.
  • To fulfil the terms of your ASP account, you must save 150–4 500 euros each quarter for a period of at least eight quarters. There is no maximum period for saving.
  • Saving is flexible: the quarters don’t need to be successive and you can skip quarters if you need to. Also, you can easily change the amounts and timing of savings as you go along.
  • In addition to the annual 1% tax-free deposit rate of ASP accounts, we will pay 4% tax-free bonus interest for the first year you make deposits and the five following years. The bonus interest will be paid when the ASP terms and conditions are met and you raise the ASP loan for buying a home.
  • When you have saved 10% of your home’s purchase price, the bank can grant you the remainder as an ASP loan. If you are buying a home with another person, you must buy at least 50% of the home and save 10% of your share of the price.
  • Your ASP account is closed in the OP cooperative bank when you purchase a home. Otherwise, you can close an ASP account in the op.fi service or by calling our Customer Service. Remember that you can always take a break from ASP saving.
Who can open an ASP account?
  • You must be aged 15–44.
  • You can have a maximum of one ASP account. If you have already opened an ASP account with another bank, you can transfer the account to an OP cooperative bank with no interruption in saving for your first home. 
  • You must never have had 50% or higher ownership of any apartment.
  • Children aged 15–17 can open an account at a branch together with their guardians. The savings must be earnings from work done by the underage saver.

Opening a joint ASP account

You can open an ASP account with your spouse, for example, or they can be added to the account later. The account holder must be aged 15–44. 

The person added to the account may be over 44 years old if the person in question is married, in a registered partnership with the account holder or a cohabiting partner. In the Act on Bonus for Home Savers, cohabiting partner refers to partners who live in a relationship if they have or have had a child together or have previously been married to one another or in a registered partnership.

Any other person must be 15–44 years old in order to be added on the ASP account.

A joint ASP account cannot be opened in op.fi service. Please, contact our customer service if you want to open a joint ASP account.

Interest rate of an ASP account Interest rate, taxation

How is the interest rate calculated?

ASP account offers a better interest rate on your savings. In addition to the 1% deposit rate, we will pay a 4%* bonus interest rate for the first year of saving, and then for the five following calendar years at most. The additional interest is paid when you have reached your savings target and you withdraw the ASP loan.

The principal and deposit interest of an ASP account are covered by the deposit guarantee to the amount prescribed by law. OP Financial Group member banks are considered a single bank from the perspective of the deposit guarantee.

*For accounts opened before 1 October 2019, the bonus interest rate is 2% to 4%, depending on the OP cooperative bank.

Taxation

Deposit interest and bonus interest paid into an ASP savings account are tax exempt, if the ASP scheme’s terms are met. If you stop saving into an ASP account prematurely, or fail to meet ASP terms and conditions, bonus interest will not be paid and the deposit interest will be subject to tax at source.

Benefits of an ASP loan Collateral, state interest subsidy, loan amounts

You can apply for an ASP loan when you have saved at least 10% of the home’s purchase price. The maximum loan term is 25 years.

You are entitled to a government interest subsidy and a free state guarantee on your ASP loan or a part of it. The interest subsidy is valid for 10 years: if the interest on your ASP loan exceeds 3.8% during the interest subsidy period, the state pays 70% of the interest exceeding that rate. With the state guarantee, your loan may be up to 90% of your home’s purchase price. You can get a state guarantee of up to 60,000 euros per home.

Maximum amounts of interest-subsidised ASP loans

In ASP loans with an interest subsidy, the maximum loan amount depends on where the home is located and the number of ASP loan applicants.

MUNICIPALITY ONE ASP LOAN APPLICANT TWO ASP LOAN APPLICANTS
Helsinki 215,000 euros 322,500 euros
Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen 160,000 euros 240,000 euros
Tampere and Turku 140,000 euros 210,000 euros
Other municipalities 120,000 euros 180,000 euros

Additional ASP loan

If the price of your first home is higher than the maximum amount of your ASP interest-subsidy loan, you can apply for an additional ASP loan.

Read more about ASP loan >

Examples of ASP saving

Example 1: Tiina is saving for a studio in Helsinki

Tiina (19) wanted to buy a studio worth 235,000 euros in Helsinki in a few years. Tiina opened an ASP account in an OP cooperative bank and started saving under the ASP scheme.  

Tiina estimated that the home she would like to buy costs 235,000 euros, for which she saved the 10% in her ASP account, that is, 23,500 euros. She thus needs 211,500 euros for her home loan. 

  • ASP savings: 23 500 euros 
  • ASP interest-subsidy loan: 211 500 euros  
  • Home's collateral value: 164 500 euros 
  • Government guarantee: 47 000 euros 

The home and government guarantee are sufficient, so Tiina needs no side collateral for her ASP loan.

Example 2: Liisa and Janne are saving for a two-bedroom terrace house in Oulu

Liisa (24) and Janne (31) start saving in an ASP account together. They aim to buy a two-bedroom terrace house for 300,000 euros in Oulu. Liisa and Janne will each buy 50% of the apartment and save 10% of their share of the price. As the price is 300,000 euros, they have to save a total of 30,000. In addition to the savings, they need a home loan of 270,000 euros. 

  • ASP savings: 30,000 euros 
  • ASP interest-subsidy loan: 180,000 euros 
  • ASP additional loan: 90 000 euros 
  • Home's collateral value: 210,000 euros 
  • Government guarantee: 60,000 euros 

 The home and government guarantee are sufficient, so Liisa and Janne need no side collateral for their home loan.

Saving with an ASP account at the age of 15–17

You can open an ASP account at the age of 15—17 if you have income from work. If you are under 18, you must take your guardian along with you to open an ASP account at an OP cooperative bank branch.

Money earned from work includes:

  • Earned income from gainful employment
  • Weekly or monthly pocket money paid into your wages account (the money must be based on work done, not a gift)
  • A scholarship you have received from your school, for example

Money earned from work excludes:

  • Survivors’ pension
  • Inheritance
  • Child benefit
  • Student financial aid

Flexible accrual of bonus interest

You can choose whether to start accruing bonus interest as soon as you open an ASP account, or once you turn 18. Bonus interest will start accruing for the year you chose as the first accrual year, and for up to five years afterwards. Bonus interest will be paid if you have met the ASP terms and conditions and use your ASP loan to purchase a home.

Owner-customer's OP bonuses and benefits from banking services

As an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you get OP bonuses that decrease your banking and insurance service charges. In 2023, you will earn 30% extra OP bonuses, and in 2024, up to 40% more than normal.

OP bonuses come from

  • funds in savings accounts
  • home loans, student loans and secured bank loans
  • mutual fund units and unit-linked insurance
  • paid insurance premiums, such as home and motor vehicle insurance and continuous travel insurance.

OP bonuses are tax-free. Because of that they are automatically used for loan service and origination fees and insurance premiums, among other things.

As an owner-customer, you also get significant benefits and discounts. For example, you will get daily banking services without monthly charges until the end of 2024 and interest on your Current Account. Furthermore, you'll enjoy lower saving and investing costs than usual.

Account terms and conditions


The account is provided by OP cooperative bank.