Press Releases

Interest Rates on Bank Deposits and Loans: February 2017

31/03/2017 - Press Releases

1. INTEREST RATES ON EURO-DENOMINATED NEW DEPOSITS AND LOANS

In February 2017, the overall weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained almost unchanged, while the average interest rate on new loans decreased. The interest rate spread* between loan and deposit rates decreased to 4.21 percentage points, from 4.54 points, in the previous month (see Table 1).

The overall weighted average interest rate on all new deposits stood at 0.31%, almost unchanged against the previous month. In particular, the average interest rate on overnight deposits placed by households remained unchanged at 0,09%. The average interest rates on overnight deposits placed by non-financial corporations remained almost unchanged at 0.15%. The average interest rate on deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to 1 year also remained almost unchanged at 0.67%.

The overall weighted average interest rate on all new loans to households and corporations decreased by 34 basis points to 4.52% against the previous month.

More specifically, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a defined maturity (a category which comprises credit cards, open account loans and overdrafts) remained almost unchanged at 14.54%. The average interest rate on consumer loans with a defined maturity at a floating rate(1) decreased by 14 basis points to 7.56%.

The average interest rate on corporate loans without a defined maturity and the rate on loans to sole proprietors remained almost unchanged at 5.67% and 7.28% respectively. The average interest rate on corporate loans with a defined maturity at a floating rate (1) decreased by 72 basis points to 4.08%. In particular, the rate on loans of up to €250,000 decreased by 10 basis points to 5.17%, on loans of over €250,000 and up to €1 million decreased by 22 basis points to 4.79%, and the rate on loans of over €1 million decreased by 83 basis points to 3.89%. Finally, the average interest rate on housing loans at a floating rate (1) increased by 10 basis points to 2.67%.

2. INTEREST RATES ON OUTSTANDING AMOUNTS OF EURO-DENOMINATED DEPOSITS AND LOANS

In February 2017, the overall weighted average interest rate on the outstanding amounts of all deposits remained unchanged, while the overall weighted average interest rate on all loans increased. The spread* between loan and deposit rates increased to 4.45 percentage points, from 4.35 points in the previous month (see Table 2).

In more detail, the overall weighted average interest rate on the outstanding amounts of all deposits (including overnight deposits) remained unchanged at 0.32%, while the corresponding rate on loans increased by 10 basis points to 4.77%.

In particular, the average interest rate on the outstanding amounts of deposits with an agreed maturity of up to 2 years placed by households remained almost unchanged at 0.69%. The average interest rate on the outstanding amounts of deposits with an agreed maturity of up to 2 years placed by non-financial corporations remained almost unchanged at 0.82%. The average interest rate on outstanding amounts of housing loans with over 5 years’ maturity remained almost unchanged at 2.39%. The corresponding rate on loans to sole proprietors remained unchanged at 5.06%, while the average interest rate on outstanding amounts of corporate loans with over 5 years’ maturity increased by 22 basis points to 3.91%.

Table 1: Average interest rates on new euro-denominated deposits and loans
		December 2016	January 2017	February  2017
DEPOSITS	Overnight from households	0.10	0.09	0.09
	Overnight from non-financial corporations	0.13	0.14	0.15
	From households with an agreed maturity of up to 1 year	0.70	0.69	0.67
	Overall weighted average rate on all deposits	0.32	0.32	0.31
LOANS	Consumer without a defined maturity	14.51	14.51	14.54
	Corporate without a defined maturity	5.65	5.66	5.67
	To sole proprietors without a defined maturity	7.34	7.29	7.28
	Consumer at a floating rate1	6.47	7.70	7.56
	Corporate with a fixed maturity at a floating rate1:	4.61	4.80	4.08
	-amounts of up to €250.000	5.28	5.27	5.17
	-amounts of over €250.000 and up to €1 million	5.06	5.01	4.79
	-amounts of over €1 million	4.53	4.72	3.89
	Housing at a floating rate[1]	2.83	2.57	2.67
	Overall weighted average rate on all loans	4.82	4.86	4.52
Interest rate spread**		4.50	4.54	4.21