This is how you maximize your interest discount at the bank

There are big differences in how much the banks have lowered their variable mortgage interest rates in the past year.
If you are an unsatisfied bank customer looking for a discount – then you need to be active.
– Unfortunately, you have to be at the bank and nag, says Christina Sahlberg, private economist at Compricer.

Although the Riksbank’s policy rate has been reduced by 0.75 percentage points this year, six banks have lowered the variable mortgage rates by less than that. The banks that have reduced the least since the turn of the year are Danske Bank, Handelsbanken and Ikano Bank, shows a compilation made by Comppricer.

– The difference is that the banks have different strategies when they lower and by how much. It’s about the competition. Do we want to take on more mortgage customers? Do we want to earn more from the customers we have? Or can we take more customers and earn a little less? There are different strategies and different rates at which they reduce, says Christina Sahlberg, private economist at Compricer.

“Look at the average interest rates”

But it is not only the banks that can benefit from having a strategy, customers can benefit from comparing banks and not staring blindly at the list rates.

– It is better to look at the average interest rates. That is, the interest rates that customers actually received last month. That is, the list rate minus the discount. There you can see if I have roughly the same interest rate as the others in my bank and then you can compare banks to see which bank is the best right now, she says.

Decisive for the interest discount

Christina Sahlberg’s tip is to look at the banks’ websites to see what interest rate they offer. A simple way is to look at one or two banks that you don’t have and see what interest you can get there. If you are then prepared to change banks, it is time to contact your current bank and make demands:

– If they refuse and you don’t get a good discount, then it may be time to change banks, she says.

What determines how much interest discount you get?

– Unfortunately, it often comes down to how much you nag. If you don’t get in touch, you may lose your discount entirely. Unfortunately you have to be at the bank nagging.