Risk premium on lending in Iceland
Iceland: Risk premium on lending was 3.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Risk premium on lending in Iceland, 1992–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for risk premium on lending in Iceland is 3.1%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 86.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in Iceland peaked at 7.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2015.
Iceland ranks 52nd of 86 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending in Iceland, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 2.7% | — |
| 1993 | 5.8% | +111.4% |
| 1994 | 5.6% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 4.4% | -22.4% |
| 1996 | 5.5% | +25.3% |
| 1997 | 5.8% | +7.0% |
| 1998 | 5.4% | -7.9% |
| 1999 | 4.7% | -12.8% |
| 2000 | 5.7% | +21.1% |
| 2001 | 6.9% | +21.7% |
| 2002 | 7.4% | +6.3% |
| 2003 | 7.0% | -4.6% |
| 2004 | 6.0% | -14.8% |
| 2005 | 6.0% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | -24.8% |
| 2007 | 4.2% | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -55.8% |
| 2009 | 7.6% | +313.4% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -52.6% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -19.1% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | -29.1% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | -12.4% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +16.2% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +16.3% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 2.6% | +14.5% |
| 2020 | 3.8% | +47.4% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | -4.1% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | -31.7% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 3.0% | +19.6% |
| 2025 | 3.1% | +5.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.0% | 2.7% | 5.8% | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 1.8% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.7% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More financial sector data for Iceland
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per capita 11.64 million current LCU per person (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per unit of GDP 118.35 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.25 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gold reserves at 35 SDRs per ounce 2.23 million SDR (2025)
- Gold reserves at market value 203.48 million SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange 4.94 billion SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold 5.44 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at market value) 5.65 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) 5.64 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) (SDR), per capita 14,384 SDR per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is risk premium on lending in Iceland?
- Risk premium on lending in Iceland was 3.1% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 7.6% in 2009.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2015.
- How does Iceland rank for risk premium on lending?
- Iceland ranks 52nd out of 86 countries with data for 2025.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 86.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.