Abi, rates down in March, average mortgages drops to 3.79%

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The trend towards decreasing interest rates that began in February is confirmed. In March according to data from Abi monthly report the average rate on new transactions for the purchase of homes decreased to 3.79% from 3.89% in February and compared to 4.42% in December 2023; the average rate on new business financing operations fell to 5.26% from 5.34% in February 2024 and from 5.45% in December 2023; the average rate on total loans (therefore subscribed over the years) fell to 4.79% from 4.80% in the previous month. The Report also records a decline in market rates in the first 10 days of April.

In fact, in the first 10 days of the current month the rate on BTPs was on average 3.78%, a decrease of 121 points compared to the maximum recorded in October 2023 and the 10-year IRS rate (widely used in mortgages) was on average 2.68%, down 84 points compared to the high recorded in October 2023. The rate on six-month BOTs averaged 3.67%, down 38 points compared to the high recorded in October 2023 while the 3-month Euribor averaged 3.89%, down 11 points compared to the high recorded in October 2023.

The collection is growing

The monthly report from the Abi also records an increase in collection: both indirect and direct collections are growing. Indirect collection shows an increase of approximately 218 billion between February 2023 and February 2024 (137.8 billion families, 21.3 businesses and the remainder to other sectors, financial companies, insurance companies, public administration). In March 2024, medium and long-term funding, through bonds, grew by 18.5% compared to a year earlier (+17.9% in the previous month).

Deposits are falling

Consequently, deposits alone, in the various forms, fell in March 2024 by 0.3% on an annual basis, a slowing decrease compared to February 2024 (-1.1%). Overall direct funding (deposits from resident customers and bonds) in March 2024 increased by 1.7% on an annual basis, continuing the growing trend recorded in the previous two months (+0.9% in February 2024 and +0 .5% in January 2024.