However, the difference between lending and deposit rates remains above 5%
In September, banks proceeded with a small reduction in lending rates, while keeping deposit rates unchanged, with the result that the margin between them narrowed.
In more detail, according to data from the Bank of Greece (BoG), the weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained unchanged at 0.54%, while the corresponding interest rate on new loans decreased to 5.61% from 5.84%. The spread between new deposits and loans narrowed to 5.07 percentage points (5.07%) from 5.30% the previous month.
In particular, the average interest rate on overnight deposits from households remained almost unchanged at 0.03%, while the corresponding interest rate on business deposits stood at 0.19% from 0.16% in the previous month.
The average interest rate on deposits with an agreed term of up to 1 year from households remained almost unchanged at 1.86%, while the corresponding interest rate on corporate deposits remained unchanged at 2.98%.
On the lending side, the average weighted interest rate of all new loans to households and businesses decreased by 23 basis points and stood at 5.61%.
In particular, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a fixed term (category that includes loans through credit cards, open loans and overdrafts from current accounts) decreased by 6 basis points and stood at 14.87%.
The average interest rate on consumer loans with a fixed term and floating rate decreased by 40 basis points to 12.04%, while the average interest rate on mortgage loans with a variable rate decreased by 18 basis points to 4.28%.
The average interest rate on business loans without a fixed term decreased by 14 basis points to 6.29%. The corresponding interest rate on professional loans decreased by 9 basis points and stood at 7.31%.
The average interest rate on new fixed-term and variable-rate business loans decreased by 33 basis points to 5.25%. The average interest rate on regular maturity loans with a variable interest rate to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) decreased by 10 basis points and stood at 5.57%.
Regarding the structure of interest rates in terms of the amount of the loan, it is noted that the average interest rate for loans up to 250,000 euros increased by 23 basis points and stood at 6.04%, for loans from 250,001 to 1 million euros it decreased by 9 basis points and stood at 5.55%, while for loans over 1 million euros it decreased by 32 basis points and stood at 5.21%.
