The state-owned Swedish mortgage lender SBAB has advised that home owners will suffer reduced spending power under sharp autumn interest rate increases predicted to be made by Riksbank. Read the full story

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to lower Central Bank interest rates by 0.5 percentage points. The deposit rate (current account rate) will be lowered to 8%. The maximum bid rate for 28-day certificates of deposit (CDs) will be 9.25%. The seven-day collateral lending rate will be 9.5% and the overnight lending rate 11%. (Central Bank press release)

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to lower the deposit rate (current account rate) by 0.5 percentage points to 9%. The maximum volume at weekly auctions of 28-day certificates of deposit (CDs) will be increased from 25 b.kr. to 30 b.kr., with a minimum bid rate of 9.5% and a maximum of 10.25%. This implies a 0.25 percentage point increase in the maximum interest rate. The seven-day collateral lending rate will be lowered from 12% to 11% and the overnight lending rate from 14.5% to 13%.

(Press release)

Credit and debit card use in Iceland has reduced considerably so far this year. Household credit card turnover rates dropped about 13.8 percent from January to May this year, whilst the debit card turnover dropped nearly 0.3 percent around the same time. The total turnover on domestic credit and debit card use between January and May fell about 7.5 percent. Read the full story

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Iceland has decided to hold the policy interest rate unchanged at 12.0 percent. Interest rates on current accounts are unchanged at 9.5 percent. Other Central Bank interest rates are also unchanged. Read the full story

Interest rates charged by Iceland’s Housing Finance Fund were reduced by 0.1 percent this week. The state-run mortgage fund now charges 4.6 percent on loans with a prepayment clause and 5.1 percent on loans without. The Fund’s interest rates were last lowered by 0.2 percent in May.

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to lower the Central Bank of Iceland’s policy rate by 100 basis points to 12.0 percent. Overnight lending rates will also be lowered by 100 basis points. Other Central Bank interest rates will remain unchanged. Read the full story

Iceland’s Housing Finance Fund (Íbúðalánasjóður) today lowered its interest rates. The general mortgage rate has now fallen to 4.7 percent from 4.9 percent. Interest on mortgages without prepayment clause is now 5.2 percent instead of 5.4.

Although the banks have offered mortgages for several years, the government-owned Housing Finance Fund remains the country’s biggest mortgage provider and usually offers the lowest interest rates.

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to lower the Central Bank of Iceland’s policy rate by 250 basis points to 13.0 percent. Overnight lending rates will also be lowered by 250 basis points. Other Central Bank interest rates will be lowered by 300 basis points. Read the full story

STATEMENT FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF ICELAND:

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to lower the Central Bank of Iceland’s policy rate by 150 basis points to 15.5 percent. Other interest rates of the Bank will be lowered accordingly. A webcast will begin at 11 a.m. GMT today, where the rationale behind today’s decision will be presented.