The average interest rate that Belgian banks gave on savings accounts in November 2024 was, at 1.03 percent, lower than in most other euro countries. This is what Eric Dor, professor at the IÉSEG School of Management, says.
“There is a significant difference with neighboring countries such as Luxembourg (2.89 percent), France (2.56 percent) and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands (1.45 percent). There is a significant difference with these neighboring countries, to the disadvantage of savers in Belgium,” notes Dor.
For the professor, this reflects the strategy of Belgian banks to take advantage of passive savers “who leave their money in regulated savings accounts without reacting to the very low interest rates” and to compete only on term accounts to attract dynamic savers looking for towards a good return.
“The average interest rate that Belgian banks received on new consumer loans in November (6.72 percent) was lower than the interest rate in Germany (8.07 percent), Italy (8.45 percent) and Spain (6.88 percent), but higher than interest rates in France (6.46 percent) and Luxembourg (4.54 percent),” adds Éric Dor.