Expanded again the opening of interest rates in July, as banks kept deposit rates unchanged while increasing lending.

According to data from the Bank of Greece in June 2024, the weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained almost unchanged at 0.57%, while the corresponding rate on new loans increased to 5.78%, resulting in the interest rate spread between new deposits and loans to increase to 5.21% from 4.98% in May.

In more detail, the average weighted interest rate of all new deposits remained almost unchanged, compared to the previous month, at 0.57%.

In particular, the average interest rate on overnight deposits from households remained unchanged at 0.03%, while the corresponding interest rate on corporate deposits stood at 0.20% from 0.17% the previous month.

The average interest rates on deposits with an agreed duration of up to 1 year from households and from businesses remained almost unchanged at 1.86% and 3.16% respectively.

In terms of grants the weighted average interest rate of all new loans to households and businesses increased by 24 basis points (0.24%) and stood at 5.78%.

In particular, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a fixed duration (category that includes loans through credit cards, open loans and overdrafts from current accounts) decreased by 7 basis points and stood at 14.92%.

The average interest rate on consumer loans with a fixed term and variable interest rate increased by 12 basis points (0.12%) and stood at 12.23%, while the average interest rate on variable rate mortgages decreased by 26 basis points (0.26%) to 4.70%.

The average interest rate on business loans without a fixed term decreased by 6 basis points to 6.61%. The corresponding interest rate on business loans also decreased by 6 basis points to 7.55%.

The average interest rate of new business loans with a fixed term and floating rate remained almost unchanged at 5.41%. The average interest rate on regular maturity loans with a variable interest rate to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) decreased by 29 basis points and stood at 5.88%.

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 19 basis points to 5.95%, for loans from 250,001 to 1 million euros it decreased by 15 basis points and stood at 5.99%, while for loans over 1 million euros it increased by 12 basis points and stood at 5.37%.