Small banks are gaining a bigger share of the Dutch mortgage market according to new figures from the central bank DNB.

Small banks have now managed to capture 13.3% of the mortgage market, almost double their share in 2012, when the market was at a low, the figures show.

The small banks – with assets of up to €50bn –  have been able to eat into the big banks’ market by offering lower interest rates. ‘In fact, average rates offered by the smaller banks are currently around six basis points below those of the large banks,’ the central bank said.

Adjusted for changes in fixed-interest periods – given that short periods always carry lower interest rates – the difference is even more marked, at almost 20 basis points.

The central bank also said that the total Dutch mortgage debt had hit €715bn at the end of March, up 1% on the year earlier period.  Almost three quarters of this is in the hands of the banks.