In the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the banks' gross margin for mortgages was 0.81 percentage points. This can be compared to 0.78 percentage points at the end of the third quarter.
This means that it is now time for consumers to put pressure on the banks, according to FI.
"The banks' margins are increasing and there is room for negotiation. So call your bank and negotiate your interest rate if you are not satisfied. Sometimes it may be enough to ask for an amortization schedule to get a better offer from your bank," says Moa Langemark, consumer protection economist at FI in a press release.
The gross margin is equal to the difference between the banks' lending rate for mortgages with variable rates and the cost of financing the loans. During this quarter, the Swedish Central Bank has simultaneously lowered the repo rate by 0.75 percentage points to 2.5 percent, which in turn has reduced the banks' costs for financing mortgages during the quarter.
FI is now urging consumers to compare their own interest rate with the average interest rate and disregard the so-called list rate that banks publish. The average interest rate is the rate that customers have received after negotiating with the bank.
According to Statistics Sweden (SCB), the average variable mortgage interest rate for new agreements was 3.45 percent at the end of the fourth quarter.
Corrected version: In an earlier version, the Financial Supervisory Authority had stated 3.47 percent.
