The banks are happy to disclose their list prices for mortgage rates. However, they must also, according to law, report what customers actually get in terms of rates after negotiation, the so-called average rates that banks report on their websites.
In line with the Swedish Central Bank's lowering of its policy rate, mortgage rates have followed, more or less almost as much. In October, the average rate for a variable mortgage at the four major banks was between 4.02 and 4.12 percent, lowest at SEB and highest at Nordea. In September, the range was between 4.11 and 4.27 percent.
Up to and including October, the Swedish Central Bank had lowered its policy rate three times, a total of 0.75 percentage points down to 3.25 percent (before Thursday's lowering). All four major banks have lowered their average rates on variable mortgages during the year to a corresponding extent.
List rates are often about one percentage point higher, and then the banks offer a "discount" of what they call "rate rebate". The average rate is the average actual mortgage rate that customers ultimately pay.
