Greece, deposit and loan interest rates up in June

The overall average interest rate on new deposits and new corporate loans in Greek banks increased in June, while the average interest rates on housing and consumer loans as well as on loans to sole proprietors decreased, the Bank of Greece said on Wednesday. The central bank, in its monthly report, said the overall average interest rate on all new deposits slightly increased. In the case of loans, as Athens News Agency reports, the average interest rate on consumer loans without a defined maturity (a category which includes credit card debt, open account loans and debit balances on current accounts) decreased slightly. The average interest rate on corporate loans without a defined maturity remained unchanged, while the corresponding rate on loans to sole proprietors decreased slightly. The average interest rate on corporate loans with a defined maturity decreased for loans up to one million euros but increased significantly, by 71 basis points, for loans above one million euros. Finally, the average interest rate on housing loans decreased by 12 basis points. Given, however, the large increase in the average rate of corporate loans, the overall average interest rate on all new loans to households and corporations increased, in June 2012, by 9 basis points.