Deposit and lending rates increased in August, but the margin between them widened.

In more detail, according to data from the Bank of Greece, the weighted average interest rates on new deposits and new loans increased to 0.39% and 6.33% respectively, with the result that the interest margin between new deposits and loans increased to 5, 94 percentage points (5.94% from 5.86% in the previous month).

As can be seen from the same data, the interest rates on deposits increased by only 0.04%, while those on loans increased by 0.12%!

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) remained unchanged at 14.77%.

The average interest rate of consumer loans with a fixed term and variable interest rate increased by 39 basis points and stood at 13.40%. The average interest rate on variable rate mortgages decreased by 16 basis points to 4.03%.

Average interest rates on business and professional loans with no fixed term were almost unchanged at 6.73% and 7.72% respectively.

The average interest rate on new fixed-term and variable-rate business loans increased by 25 basis points in August 2023 to 6.35%. The average interest rate on regular maturity loans with a variable interest rate to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increased by 33 basis points and stood at 6.07%.