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Interest rates declined by 1%

02/11/2015 13:22
Lending rates in Cyprus have declined by about a percentage point during 2015 but remain the highest among all euro area countries.

According to new data released today by the European Central Bank, both the lending rates and the deposit rates have been reduced considerably after the Central Bank intervened last February, without though changing substantially Cyprus' profile as the country with the most expensive capital in the eurozone.

According to the data, the average interest rate for new business loans in Cyprus fell below 5% for the first time. The average rate on new business loans declined to 4.95% in September 2015 from 5.03% in August and 5.83% in September 2014. Since last February, a reduction of 85 percentage points has been recorded.

Apart from Cyprus business loan rates also remain high in Greece (4.92%) and in Malta (4%) while the lowest rates are recorded in Finland (1.68%) and Luxembourg (1.79%).

In the eurozone, the interest rate on business loans fell to 2.73% from 2.74% in August.

As regards interest rates on new housing loans in Cyprus they fell to 4.03% in September from 4.05% in August 2015 and 4.89% in September last year while the reduction since last February amounts to 101 pp.

In Greece, interest rates on housing loans stood at 3.25% from 3.81% in the previous month.

In the eurozone, the housing loan rate rose to 2.61% from 2.60% in August.

As regards interest rates on new deposits in Cyprus, they fell in September 2015 to 1.52% from 1.59% in August 2015. In September 2014 the deposit rate stood at 2.59%.

This is the third highest deposit rate in the eurozone. Since February a decrease of 78 percentage points has been recorded.

In the eurozone, the cost of raising deposits fell to 0.68% from 0.69%.

The lowest deposit rates are observed in Lithuania (0.14%) and Estonia (0.19%) while the highest are recorded in the Netherlands (1.89%) and Belgium (1.68%).