01 Oct 2026
Bank lending rates rise in August as interest rate spread widens
- RE+D Magazine
The deposit-lending rate spread widened in August, as banks raised deposit rates while keeping lending rates unchanged.
More specifically, according to data from the Bank of Greece, the weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained almost unchanged at 0.37%, while the corresponding rate on loans increased to 4.79%. As a result, the interest rate margin between new deposits and loans widened to 4.42 percentage points (4.42%), from 4.30% in the previous month.
More specifically, the average interest rate on overnight deposits by households remained unchanged at 0.03%, while the corresponding rate on overnight deposits by businesses increased by 8 basis points to 0.21%.
The average interest rate on household deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year decreased by 7 basis points to 1.17%, while the corresponding rate on business deposits declined by 5 basis points to 1.97%.
On the lending side, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a defined maturity—a category that includes credit card loans, revolving credit facilities and overdrafts on current accounts—increased by 4 basis points to 14.59%.
The average interest rate on consumer loans with a defined maturity and a variable rate decreased by 56 basis points to 9.89%, while the average interest rate on floating-rate mortgages declined by 14 basis points to 3.39%.
The average interest rate on business loans without a defined maturity remained unchanged at 4.75%, while the corresponding rate on professional loans remained almost unchanged at 6.90%.
The average interest rate on new business loans with a defined maturity and a variable rate increased by 12 basis points to 4.35%. The average interest rate on fixed-term, floating-rate loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased by 10 basis points to 4.58%.
As regards the breakdown of interest rates by loan size, the average rate on loans of up to €250,000 decreased by 17 basis points to 4.94%. For loans ranging from €250,001 to €1 million, the average rate increased by 13 basis points to 4.69%, while for loans exceeding €1 million, it rose by 8 basis points to 4.24%.