Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge er første storbank til å heve boliglånsrenten

Norges Bank raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5% on Thursday. Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge becomes the first major bank to raise its mortgage loan interest rates. The bank will increase rates on mortgages and deposits by up to 0.25 percentage points, according to a press release. New mortgages will have the rate hike starting September 28, while existing mortgages will see changes on November 29.

Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge's Communications Director, Øyvind Knoph Askeland, told E24 that they "see the signals from Norges Bank when they raise the policy rate because they think it's necessary to bring down the price pressure in the Norwegian economy." When asked if they were hesitant to be the first, Askeland said that they consider many different circumstances and that their decision is primarily about being competitive in their pricing.

Askeland declined to provide exact figures on how much the rates would increase for different products, stating that it varies case by case and risk. He added that they update the price list continuously and will provide a product-specific list of changes. Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache cited persistent above-target price growth over the past few years and stated that the rate hike would help temper the growth.

Bache indicated that the central bank may need to keep rates higher for some time and that the committee is prepared to raise rates further if needed to bring price growth back to the 2% target in a reasonable timeframe.