ECB banks rate to its lowest level


Mario Draghi maintains ECB banks rate to its lowest level

Posted by French Property Invest. on November 15th 201

 

On Thursday 8th November 2012, the European Central Bank announced its decision not reduce its main base rate, thereby maintaining the status quo which should continue in the coming months.

Just one year after his nomination, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, celebrated this anniversary by maintaining the banks rate at its lowest level. Used as the basis for standard variable mortgage ecbrates in France, the ECB base rate  remained, for the fourth consecutive month, at 0.75%. This is good news for banks who can continue to refinance at a rate below the 1% and thus continue their aggressive mortgage offers. The average rates on offer currently stands at 3.37% for French residents according to the Observatory of Housing Credit (CSA).

In fact, many Banks would probably have welcomed a new decrease in ECB rate with more enthusiasm. However, if in theory a downward revision of interest rates by the ECB may seem beneficial for an economy in need of refinancing, it is actually not always the case. The decline of 25 basis points decided last July has had very little impact on the economic recovery. According to Dirk Schumacher of Goldman Sachs,