Euro area bank interest rate statistics: March 2015
• The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator for new loans to corporations remained unchanged at 2.34% in March 2015.
• The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator for new loans to households for house purchase decreased by 8 basis points from the previous month to 2.30% in March. This was the 14th decrease in a row since February 2014.
• In the same month, the euro area composite interest rate for new deposits from corporations remained broadly unchanged whereas the one from households decreased.
Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area corporations and households (percentages per annum)
Bank interest rates for corporations
While the composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to corporations, remained unchanged, March 2015 saw mixed developments in the cost of new borrowing by corporations both for small loans of up to €250,000 and for loans of over €1 million. For example, the interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months increased by 10 basis points from the previous month to 1.62%. The rate for new loans of the same size with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years decreased by 19 basis points to 1.94%. In the case of new loans of up to €250,000 with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months, the average rate charged decreased by 10 basis points to 3.45%. The month-on-month decrease was driven by the interest rate effect.
As regards new deposit agreements, the interest rate on deposits from corporations with an agreed maturity of up to one year stayed more or less constant at 0.31% in March 2015. The interest rate on new loans to sole proprietors and unincorporated partnerships with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 10 basis points to 2.67%.
Bank interest rates for households
The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to households for house purchase, decreased in March 2015. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year increased by 3 basis points to 2.10%, while the interest rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years fell by 8 basis points to 2.42%. In the same period, the interest rate on new loans to households for consumption with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year fell by 6 basis points to 5.15%. This was driven by the interest rate effect which outweighed the corresponding weights. Rates agreed on new deposits from households saw mixed developments. The interest rate on deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year fell by 11 basis points to 0.91%, while the interest rate on deposits redeemable at three months’ notice remained basically unchanged at 0.80% in March 2015.
Source: European Central Bank ECB
