The Parental Leave Mortgage

The Parental Leave Mortgage turned a financial service into a tool for social change. It helps solve a real, systemic inequality with a simple, scalable idea. The idea was to launch a completely new product - a redesigned mortgage for new parents - that removed a structural barrier to equal parenting in Finland. The idea reimagined how creativity can help big financial companies move from just marketing to ideas that communicate simply by existing. It showed the entire banking industry that they have the power to create change through innovation. Because sometimes the best solution isn’t an ad. It’s an action.

Nordea’s name is the combination of two words: Nordic + Idea = Nordea. It’s a reflection of the bank’s Nordic foundation and progressive mindset. Guided by strong Nordic values, the bank is committed to making money work for a more sustainable, equal, and innovative society across its key markets: Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The Parental Leave Mortgage was designed to promote greater equality in shared parental leave and reinforce Nordea’s role as a leader in responsible banking across the Nordics.

The target audience was young families in Finland - both existing Nordea customers and potential new ones - at a life stage where financial pressure and caregiving decisions collide.

Five years ago, Finland passed a law giving each parent 160 days of parental leave. But today, only 12% of parental leave days are taken by men, with one in five Finnish fathers not using their leave at all.

The main reason is financial: in Finland, parental leave isn’t fully paid, and the highest earner receives at most 70% of their salary. With one of the EU’s biggest gender pay gaps and high mortgage costs, families often rely on the full wage to cover their bills. As a result, the higher earner (often the man) stays at work to maintain financial stability. This reinforces traditional gender roles and places a lasting burden on women’s earnings and careers, while also limiting fathers’ vital role in taking part in early caregiving.

The product was launched on April 19, 2024, and is still available to any Nordea mortgage customer in Finland who has a child and is a legal guardian. This includes adoptive parents, single parents, and families of all constellations, ensuring the benefit supports equality in all its forms.

While parental leave is one of the greatest innovations ever made, it still causes systemic inequality in society. Often, the primary earners in families don’t take their share of parental leave due to the mortgage payment burden they often carry. This not only impacts their bond with their child but also sets primarily women back in terms of salary, pensions, and career growth. To strengthen Nordea's position among young families, we decided to introduce a new product instead of running a traditional ad campaign.

The Parental Leave Mortgage was a big success:
· 10,000 families enquired about the product in the first week
· Each family saved an average of €460 per month.
· Earned media reached 8.5 million people in the first week (1.5x the entire Finnish population)

And while helping young families across Finland, Nordea’s brand perception took a huge jump:
· “Cares about their customers” +200%
· “Positive effect on society” +180%
· “Innovative” +150%
· “Responsible” +50%