The thick neck of the Central Bank

The interest rate on new loan agreements to households for house purchase, with either a floating rate or initial rate fixation of up to one year, was 3.35 per cent at end-October 2014, representing a 7 basis point decrease from the end-September rate. The corresponding interest rate at end-October for the euro area was 92 basis points lower at 2.43 per cent. Loans in this category accounted for 89 per cent of all new mortgage business in the domestic market over the past year. In contrast, floating rate loans in the euro area accounted for 27 per cent of new mortgage business over the same period.

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