Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge lifts mortgage and deposit rates after central bank hike

Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge disclosed in a market notice that it will raise both mortgage and deposit rates by as much as 0.25 percentage points. New mortgage contracts will see the higher rate applied shortly, and existing loans will be adjusted at the end of November. The bank’s decision follows Norges Bank's recent increase of its policy rate by a quarter point.

Ida Wolden Bache, the governor of the central bank, justified the hike by pointing to persistent price growth above the desired level. She warned that keeping rates elevated may be necessary for some time to bring inflation back to target. The bank’s move signals the first major Norwegian lender to pass the central bank’s tightening onto consumers.