12-month Euribor, Nordea Prime and other reference rates

Reference rates may sometimes be hard to understand. On this page, we have compiled information on the interest rates used most widely at Nordea. Home loan customers may be particularly interested in the most commonly used reference rate for home loans in Finland, the 12-month Euribor. Read also about the other interest rate alternatives!

12-month Euribor – the most common home loan reference rate

Euribor is the common reference rate of the money markets in the eurozone. The name of the rate is abbreviated from Euro Interbank Offered Rate.

Many Finns are particularly interested in the 12-month Euribor rate, which is the most commonly used reference rate for home loans in Finland. The home loan interest rate tied to the 12-month Euribor rate is revised every 12 months, i.e. once every year. This makes the interest rate on your loan more predictable, because it is fixed for one year at a time. The total interest rate on your loan agreement (reference rate + margin) will change during the loan period based on fluctuations in the 12-month Euribor rate.

Euribor rates are managed by the European Money Markets Institute (EMMI). They are calculated for interest rate periods determined by EMMI and quoted at an accuracy of three decimal places at around 12.00 Finnish time on every quotation day.

The Euribor rates were quoted for the first time on 30 December 1998 for the value date 4 January 1999. The interest rate calculation practice in the eurozone money market is based on the actual days/360 days per year. With the Helibor rates, the interest calculation basis was actual days/365 days per year, but they are no longer quoted in Finland. In order for the content of old agreements not to change because of the interest-calculating practice, the Euribor/365 replaced the former Helibor rate. The Euribor/365 was derived from the Euribor rates and published as a separate reference rate until 31 March 2019, after which loans for which Helibor was agreed as the reference rate have had their applicable reference rate calculated from Euribor rates with the formula Euribor x 365/360.

You can check the daily values of the Euribor rates on the Bank of Finland’s “Interest rates” pageOpens new window.

Nordea Prime

3,20 %

The Nordea Prime rate is mainly a reference rate for personal customers’ long-term loans (e.g. housing loans) and a reference rate used in long-term saving.

Nordea Prime follows the market rates at an unhurried pace while the interest rate development is stable.
A change to the interest rate is notified at least 14 days before its entry into force on the financial pages of newspapers.
The current level of short- and long-term market rates, as well as interest-rate expectations, the inflation outlook and the general economic outlook have an impact on the rate value.

The interest rate level is decided by Nordea Bank Abp

Historical data on the Nordea Prime rate

Nordea DepositRate

1,50 %

The Nordea DepositRate is mainly intended as the reference rate for the deposit interest of personal customers’ CurrentAccountPlus account. It is Nordea’s own reference rate which is kept relatively stable: small interest rate fluctuations in the market do not affect its value.

A change to the interest rate is notified at least 14 days before its entry into force on the financial pages of newspapers.
Market interest rate trends, the bank’s funding needs and the competitive situation in the deposits market have an effect on the value of the DepositRate.

The interest rate level is decided by Nordea Bank Abp.

Fixed interest rates

The fixed interest rates of loans are determined according to the loan period on the basis of the current interest rate level prevailing in the monetary and capital markets. They can be fixed either for the entire loan period or for a shorter period separately agreed on. Fixed interest rates are applied to both personal customers’ housing loans and corporate financing.

Fixed interest rates used in housing loans

You can choose an ordinary fixed rate for your housing loan.

Ordinary fixed rate

You can fix the ordinary interest rate for 3, 5, 10 or 15 years. If the repayment period of your loan is longer than the fixed interest rate period, Nordea Prime + the margin will be switched as the interest after the fixed rate period. When the interest rate on your loan is fixed, you know your interest costs beforehand for the entire fixed interest rate period.

If you have an ordinary fixed rate on your loan, you will pay compensation to the bank for early repayment of your loan if the interest rate of a corresponding new loan is lower than your loan interest. Similarly, you are not compensated even if the interest on a similar new loan was higher than on your loan.

Interest rate on a Fixed-Term Time Deposit Account

The interest rate on a Fixed-Term Time Deposit Account is determined on the basis of the investment period and amount.

Interest rate on a current account

Nordea may revise the interest rate on a current account in accordance with the account terms and conditions by notifying its customers thereof at least two months beforehand. Nordea Bank Abp decides on any changes to the interest rate.

Nordea Avista

The Nordea Avista reference rate is an overnight interest rate quoted by Nordea´s money market trading.

t is determined daily according to Nordea’s liquidity and the prevailing overnight interest in the money markets.
The interest is quoted for both the euro and the main currencies, and separately for loans and deposits.
The Nordea overnight reference rate is used as the reference rate on cheque accounts and the Nordea overnight foreign currency rate as the reference rate on foreign currency accounts.