On Wednesday, longer-term Swedish market interest rates fell by around 0.10–0.20 percentage points. Shorter-term interest rates also fell. Interest rates affect banks' borrowing costs and several lenders referred to rising market interest rates when they chose to raise their mortgage rates in March.
"The war in the Middle East is shaking up the financial markets, which has led to a sharp rise in market interest rates with longer maturities. Unfortunately, this means that we are forced to raise fixed mortgage interest rates," wrote the state mortgage bank SBAB in a press release in March.
Review the interest rates
It now remains to be seen how mortgage lenders choose to act after market interest rates fall.
The banks have to make these decisions themselves. But I can say that if the banks' financing costs are lower, it is also natural for them to review their interest rates for customers and offer competitive terms, says Langemark.
TT has asked the major banks and SBAB whether they will adjust their mortgage rates.
"We follow market developments and adapt to prevailing circumstances. We will communicate any changes to our mortgage or savings rates when a decision is made," wrote David Henriksson, press officer at SEB.
Similar messages are coming from competitors.
Passive customers
As a consumer, you should be vigilant, according to Moa Langemark at the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
When interest rates fall, it's important to check how your bank is doing. If it's lagging behind and not taking action, and you see that other banks are starting to lower their interest rates, it's definitely time to look for a lender with better terms.
Langemark notes that banks have made historically high profits in recent quarters, and that this is a sign that consumers are too passive.
This indicates that we, as bank customers, need to become more active and question the banks and the offers they provide, and leave the bank if we feel that it is not acting in accordance with prevailing conditions.
