The average interest rate of householders’ term deposits stood at 0.29% in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from 0.9% a year earlier, while average interest rates on consumer loads to householders fell over the same time period, from 19.9% to 17.5%, the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) said.
The average interest rate on long-term loans to non-financial companies fell to 2.68% from 3.02%.
Interest rates on term deposits of up to a year stood at a little higher in the Q4 2021 than the record low they posted in the previous quarter. The rate for households stood at 0.11%, for non-financial companies it was 0.10% and the interest rate on term deposits of over one year was 1.32% for households and 0.44% for non-financial companies.
Interest rates on term deposits for households and non-financial companies last exceeded 2% in 2012.
The interest rate on new housing loans issued by credit institutions with a mortgage stood at 1.97%, down by 0.25%.
The interest rate on new housing loans from creditors of 11.72% represented a six-year low (i.e. since the Bank of Estonia started collating the relevant data).
The average interest rate on housing loans issued with a mortgage by euro area monetary financial institutions came to 1.31% in December 2021, down by 0.4%.
Interest rates in Estonia have on average been 0.5% higher than those in the euro area over the past five years, the Bank of Estonia says.
The interest rate on new consumption loans and leases other than car leases issued by credit institutions and the leasing companies associated with the same was 11.5%, down by 2.5%.
The interest rate at other creditors was 20.3% and the interest rate on credit card loans issued by credit institutions fell for the third consecutive quarter to 18.7%.
The interest rate on new sales of car leases by credit institutions and the leasing companies associated with them stood at 2.48%, the lowest level of the past two and a half years. The interest rate on car leases from other creditors was 20.3%, 0.9% lower than in the previous quarter and 3.5% lower than a year earlier.
The Bank of Estonia says it will publish the statistics on interest rates for the first quarter of 2022 on May 19. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
