Comparison of interest rates on loans and deposits in Lithuania and the euro area in March 2024

Interest rates¹ on loans and new business² of deposits with agreed maturity of euro area credit institutions to euro area residents published by the ECB show that:

• from December 2023 to March 2024, of all euro area average interest rates, the average interest rate on loans for consumption was the only one to increase;
• interest rates on loans for house purchase and loans for non-financial corporations changed marginally, while the highest interest rates on loans for consumption and other purposes granted to households declined by more than 2 percentage points in the euro area;
• in March 2024, Lithuanian households were offered the highest interest rates on deposits of over 2 years;
• in three months³, both the interest rates on loans granted by credit institutions operating in Lithuania to non-financial corporations and the average interest rates on these loans decreased by 0.01 percentage points and 0.05 percentage points respectively, to 6.40% and 5.1% respectively. Lithuania moved from the second to the third position as a result of a drop in interest rates (see Chart 1);

Chart 1. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of loans to non-financial corporations

• interest rates on loans for house purchase granted by credit institutions operating in Lithuania to households increased by 0.05 percentage points in three months to 5.67%, but their euro area average went down by 0.24 percentage points, amounting to 3.77%. Lithuania remained in the third position (see Chart 2);

Chart 2. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of household loans for house purchase

• interest rates on loans for consumption granted by credit institutions operating in Lithuania to households fell by 0.02 percentage points in three months to 9.66%, their euro area average went up by 0.12 percentage points to 7.82%. Lithuania moved from the fifth to the fourth position (see Chart 3);

Chart 3. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of household loans for consumption

• both the interest rates on loans for other purposes granted by credit institutions operating in Lithuania to households and their euro area average decreased by 0.39 percentage points and 0.03 percentage points respectively in three months, to 7.61% and 5.25% respectively. Lithuania retained the second position among euro area countries in terms of interest rates (see Chart 4);

Chart 4. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of household loans for other purposes

• interest rates on deposits with agreed maturity of non-financial corporations held with credit institutions operating in Lithuania rose by 0.04 percentage points in three months to 3.45%, and their euro area average fell by 0.04 percentage points to 3.68%. Lithuania moved from the fourteenth to the twelfth position in terms of interest rates (see Chart 5);

Chart 5. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of non-financial corporation deposits with agreed maturity

• interest rates on household deposits with agreed maturity with credit institutions operating in Lithuania and their euro area average declined by 0.07 percentage points and 0.13 percentage points respectively in three months, to 3.46% and 3.16% respectively. Lithuania moved down two positions to the sixth position among euro area countries (see Chart 6).

Chart 6. Interest rates on and volumes of new business of household deposits with agreed maturity

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¹ Weighted interest rates on new business during the reporting month, in percentages per annum.

² New business covers financial contracts that specify for the first time the interest rate on a loan or the deposit rate, and contracts for existing loans or deposits, which were renegotiated. New business does not cover revolving loans and overdrafts, as well as credit card debt. New business deposits do not cover automatic renegotiations of existing deposit contracts.

³ Comparison of data of December 2023 and March 2024.

Statistics, Monetary and financial statistics