The period of low interest rates, meaning the six-month Euribor rate staying below 1 percent, looks likely to persist in 2013-2015, manager of the Estonian branch of Danske Bank Aivar Rehe said in an interview with BNS.
Estonian banker: Interest rates will stay low till 2015
3rd March 2013, 10:11
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"Bankers usually don't venture to make forecasts for a longer term than end of year. Nonetheless, I'm convinced that low interest rates will last longer than a year, especially in view of current developments - economic recovery, the considerable loan burden of large countries, problems in Italy and Spain. France, too, if not directly in the red, is at present in what you might call a cautious, pink zone," Rehe said.
"I believe that six-month Euribor levels beginning with zero followed by dot will persist in 2013-2015," the banker said. In his words, the economy and borrowers can count on all changes keeping the rates low and in the medium to long term a reversal of trend is not in cards. "The period of low interest rates will continue," Rehe said.
"Rise potential of interest rates will come to the fore when we see government budgets starting to move towards balance," he said. "As for now, there are signs that the French want to delay budget consolidation, so policies will change step by step."