Press Releases

Interest Rates on Bank Deposits and Loans: October 2012

04/12/2012 - Press Releases

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

In October 2012 the overall average interest rate on new deposits increased, while the corresponding rate on new loans remained almost unchanged (see Table 1). As a result the spread between loans and deposits decreased by 5 basis points to 2.97 percentage points.

More specifically, in October 2012, the average interest rates on overnight deposits from households remained almost unchanged at 0.47%, while the corresponding rate on deposits from non-financial corporations decreased by 4 basis points to 0.41%. The average interest rate on deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to 1 year, increased by 4 basis points to 4.64%. The overall average interest rate on all new deposits increased by 4 basis points to 2.79%.

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 in October 2012, at 14.80%. 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 significantly by 29 basis points to 8.04%, in October 2012, from 7.75% in the previous month.

The average interest rate on corporate loans without a defined maturity decreased by 5 basis points to 7.49%, while the corresponding rate on loans to sole proprietors remained almost unchanged at 10.08%. The average interest rate on corporate loans with a defined maturity at a floating rate or with an initial rate fixation period of up to one year increased by 6 basis points to 7.50% for loans up to EUR 250,000, while for loans above EUR 250,000 and up to EUR 1 million it decreased by 11 basis points to 6.26%, and for loans above EUR 1 million it increased by 24 basis points to 5.70%. Finally, the average interest rate on housing loans at a floating rate or with an initial fixation period of up to one year decreased by 13 basis points to 2.88%. As a result of the above developments the average interest rate on all new loans to households and corporations remained almost unchanged, in October 2012, at 5.76%.

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

In October 2012 the overall average interest rate on outstanding amounts of all deposits remained almost unchanged, while the corresponding rate on all loans decreased. As a result the spread between loans and deposits decreased by 6 basis points to 2.99 percentage points (see Table 2).

In particular, in October 2012, the average interest rates on outstanding amounts of deposits from households and deposits from non-financial corporations with an agreed maturity of up to 2 years decreased by 5 basis points to 4.60% and 4.46% respectively. The average interest rate on outstanding amounts of loans with over five years’ maturity remained almost unchanged at 3.24% for housing loans, decreased by 10 basis points to 4.68% for corporate loans, and decreased by 9 basis points to 6.03% for loans to sole proprietors.

The overall average interest rate on all deposits (including overnight deposits) remained almost unchanged at 2.86%, while the corresponding rate on all loans decreased by 6 basis points to 5.85%.

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

*For the calculation of this average rate the overnight deposits are also taken into account