Norwegian banks made 62.4 billion kroner more on interest on loans and mortgages than was paid out to savers and account holders in the form of interest in the first half of this year, according to figures from national stats agency Statistics Norway. 

This is the highest difference between interest earned and interest paid out since records began in 2010, according to Statistics Norway. 

“This is where the banks essentially make their money. By offering customers low deposit interest rates, the arrows will point upwards,” Inger Lise Blyverket, director of the Consumer Council, told Norwegian newswire NTB. 

Banks have already been in hot water with consumer rights watchdogs for being too slow to raise the interest paid to savers. 

Blyverket has said customers should try and renegotiate with banks. They can do so by asking for a lower interest on any money owed to the bank or a higher interest rate on any savings accounts they have. 

In the event that the bank proves unwilling to negotiate, consumers are advised to switch providers. 

“If the bank is on the back foot, you just go to www.finansportalen.no and find yourself a new one. Here, with a few keystrokes, you can switch banks or ask your current bank to match the offer,” she explained. 

Norway’s Minister of Finance has encouraged consumers to contact their bank and ask for a better deal. He added that banks have a responsibility too. 

“There is no reason for the banks to have extra profits because of this troubled time, so they have a responsibility,” he told Norwegian broadcaster TV 2. 

The minister said the government would ask banks to be fair and responsible when it comes to interest applied to both savings and loans. 

However, he said that he could not directly intervene in the matter. 

“I want to apply some pressure, but I don’t have the right to control. One can misunderstand and think that the finance minister steps in and manages, and I don’t have the power to do that. That’s the way it should be because we have free banks in Norway,” Vedum said. 

Knut Anton Mork, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told NTB that the current situation is normal and that banks had kept high savings rates in relation to interest rates – which dropped to zero during the pandemic – in recent years. 

“No one protested that deposit interest rates were not cut below zero. What is happening now is no less reasonable,” the professor said.