Our consumer credit exposure consists of our smaller-balance standardized homogeneous loans primarily in Germany, Italy and Spain, which include personal loans, residential and nonresidential mortgage loans, overdrafts and loans to self-employed and small business customers of our private and retail business. This portfolio collectively represents a large number of individual smaller-balance loans to consumers and small businesses. We allocate this portfolio into various sub-portfolios according to our major product categories and geographical dispersion.
The table below presents consumer loan delinquencies in terms of loans that are 90 days or more past due and net credit costs, which are the net provisions charged during the period, after recoveries. Loans 90 days or more past due and net credit costs are both expressed as a percentage of total exposure.
| Total Exposure | 90 Days or More Past Due | Net Credit Costs | ||||
| in € m. | as a % of Total Exposure | as a % of Total Exposure | ||||
| Dec 31, | Dec 31, | Dec 31, | Dec 31, | Dec 31, | Dec 31, | |
| 2003 | 2002 | 2003 | 2002 | 2003 | 2002 | |
| Consumer Credit Exposure Germany | ||||||
| Consumer and Small Business | 10,550 | 11,326 | 2.54 | 1.91 | 1.36 | 0.75 |
| Financing | ||||||
| Mortgage Lending | 34,617 | 33,610 | 2.33 | 2.1 | 0.28 | 0.09 |
| Consumer Credit Exposure Other Europe | 12,769 | 10,012 | 1.54 | 4.14 | 0.52 | 0.59 |
| Total Consumer Credit Exposure | 57,936 | 54,948 | 2.19 | 2.43 | 0.53 | 0.32 |
The volume of our consumer credit exposure rose by € 3.0 billion, or 5.4%, from 2002 to 2003, driven mainly by our Spanish and Italian businesses. Total net credit costs increased from 0.32% of our total exposure in 2002 to 0.53% in 2003, mainly due to the impact of the difficult economic environment in Germany on the individual financial situation of some of our customers and falling real estate values in Germany. Net credit costs in Other European businesses remained materially unchanged. Loans delinquent by 90 days or more decreased from 2.43% to 2.19% reflecting increases in Germany more than offset by strong decreases in Other Europe. The sharp reduction of loans delinquent by 90 days or more in Other Europe resulted from charge-offs in the amount of € 240 million due to refinements of processes and procedures in the third quarter of 2003.