swedish โฃFinance Minister Urges Publicโฃ to Demand Lower Mortgage Rates From Banks
STOCKHOLM – Swedish โFinance minister Elisabeth Svantesson has publicly challenged major banks for failingโข to fully pass on recentโ interest rate cutsโฃ to mortgage holders,urging citizens to directly contact their lenders and demandโ better rates. The call to action, delivered in โฃan Instagram clip published Friday, comesโฃ as theโ Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, โคcontinues to lower itsโฃ policy rate.
Svantesson questioned whether the Riksbank’s rate reductions were intended to benefitโ bank profits, stating, “No, I don’t think so.” She highlighted thatโ while theโ Riksbank has lowered โขrates throughout the year, fourโข out of five major banks have not mirrored thoseโฃ cuts inโข mortgage rates โto the same degree. “It’s remarkable,” she added.
The Riksbank announced a 0.25 percentage point reduction in the policy rate on Tuesday, bringing it โคto 1.75 percent, effective October 1st. Following the proclamation,โค Nordea, Swedbank, SEB, and Handelsbanken announced โreductions to their โขthree-month rates – each โby 0.2 percentageโ points. Danske Bank followed on Thursday, reducing its โฃthree-month rate by 0.15 percentage points. SBAB, the state-owned mortgage provider, announced a 0.15 percentage point reduction toโ its variable rate on Friday, bringing it to 3.05 percent – the lowest listed rate for three-month mortgages.
Despite thes adjustments, Handelsbanken, Nordea, andโค SEB maintain a three-month โฃinterest โrate ofโ 3.84 percent,โ while Swedbank’s is 3.79 percent and Danske Bank’s is โ3.74โ percent.
svantessonโฃ emphasized the need for customer action, stating, “But it is indeed also required thatโค you lift the handset and โcall andโ talk to โขyour bank.” She also expressed frustration with the lack ofโฃ openness in bank interest rate setting, noting the difficulty for consumers to compare rates โค-โ unlike readily visible price comparisons โat gas stations.
