Press Releases

Interest Rates on Bank Deposits and Loans: July 2013

03/09/2013 - Press Releases

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

In July 2013, the overall weighted average interest rate on new deposits decreased, while the corresponding interest rate on new loans remained almost unchanged. The interest rate spread* between loan and deposit rates increased by 15 basis points to stand at 3.29 percentage points (see Table 1).

In the case of deposits, the average interest rate on overnight deposits from households increased by 6 basis points and stood at 0.47% in July 2013, while the corresponding rate on deposits from non-financial corporations decreased by 3 basis points and stood at 0.46%. The average interest rate on deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to one year decreased further by 41 basis points to stand at 3.48%. The overall weighted average interest rate on all new deposits decreased by 14 basis points to stand at 2.26%, in July 2013.

In the case of loans, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a defined maturity (a category which includes credit card debt, open account loans and debit balances on current accounts) remained almost unchanged at 14.64% in July 2013. The average interest rate on consumer loans with a defined maturity at a floating rate or with an initial rate fixation period of up to one year increased by 87 basis points and stood at 7.50%.

The average interest rate on corporate loans without a defined maturity remained almost unchanged at 7.42%. The corresponding rate on loans to sole proprietors decreased by 7 basis points and stood at 9.53%. The average interest rates on corporate loans with a defined maturity at a floating rate or with an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 13 basis points to 7.13% for loans up to EUR 250,000, decreased by 14 basis points to 6.08% for loans above EUR 250,000 and up to EUR 1 million, and decreased by 29 basis points to 5.72% for loans above EUR 1 million. Finally, the average interest rate on housing loans at a floating rate or with an initial fixation period of up to one year increased by 5 basis points and stood at 2.85%. The overall weighted average interest rate on all new loans to households and corporations remained almost unchanged at 5.55% in July 2013.

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

In July 2013, the overall weighted average interest rate on outstanding amounts of all deposits decreased, while the corresponding rate of all loans remained almost unchanged. The spread* between loan and deposit rates increased by 7 basis points to stand at 3.16 percentage points (see Table 2).

In particular, in July 2013, the average interest rate on outstanding amounts of deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to two years decreased by 16 basis points to 4.05% while the corresponding rate on deposits from non-financial corporations decreased by 8 basis points to 3.66% . The average interest rates on outstanding amounts of housing loans and loans to sole proprietors with over five years’ maturity remained almost unchanged at 3.14% and 5.99% respectively, while the corresponding rate on corporate loans decreased by 15 basis points and stood at 4.65%.

In July 2013, the overall weighted average interest rate on the outstanding amount of all deposits (including overnight deposits) decreased by 9 basis points to stand at 2.58% while the corresponding rate on loans remained almost unchanged at 5.74%.

Table 1: Average interest rates on new euro-denominated deposits and loans

Table 2: Average interest rates on outstanding amounts of euro-denominated deposits and loans

*The interest rate spread is the difference between the overall weighted average rate on all loans and the overall weighted average rate on all deposits.
**For the calculation of this average rate the overnight deposits are also taken into account.