Norway’s biggest bank, DNB, was once again the first to announce another interest rate hike this week. It comes after the country’s central bank raised its policy rate late last week by a quarter-point to 4 percent.
Mortgage rates for most DNB customers will now rise to around 5.5 percent, reports newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). Other banks quickly followed, keen to note, however, that they’re now also raising interest rates on deposits by a quarter-point as well. The banks, especially the dominant DNB, have been criticized for swiftly raising lending rates but not the rates they pay to customers for deposits. Now they’re making a point of announcing that they’re raising rates on both.
Yet another interest rate hike is expected in September, as the central bank (Norges Bank) keeps trying to bring down the inflation rate. It dipped in July, though, prompting some economists to claim that interest rates may have topped out now, and could even decline in early 2024.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
