Loan rates up due to spread rise - ABI

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Italian banking association ABI said Tuesday that interest rates on loans rose in October and blamed it on the increase in the State bond spread.
    ABI said the average interest rate on mortgages was 1.87% last month, compared to 1.8% in September, while the average rate for business loans was 1.6%, up from 1.45%.
    The association said the rise was "not yet very accentuated" and said new loans were "affected by the increase in the spread of the yields on sovereign bonds".