MARID – Mortgage borrowers are to benefit from a further reduction in their monthly payments, according to Bank of Spain figures released Monday.

The Euribor, the most commonly used index for calculating interest rates on loans, decreased in March for the fourth consecutive month from 2.163 percent to 2.055 percent.

In the last 12 months, this index has fallen by 0.356 percent, meaning an average saving of slightly more than EUR 20 per month on a EUR 120,000 mortgage loan taken out for 20 years.

Analysts foresee an upturn in April as the Euribor currently stands at 2.12 percent.

A record low of 2.014 percent was registered in June 2003, which the March 2004 figure almost succeeded in matching.

Bank of Spain figures also show the Mibor – used to calculate mortgages until the end of December 1999 –  also fell in March, from 2.166 to 2.056 percent.

But the average mortgage loan interest rate was much higher – 3.358 percent, after its March decline of 0.088 points.

According to these figures, commercial banks offered clients a more competitive rate than savings banks – with an average of 3.241 percent compared to 3.460 percent.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news