Viitekorot

Viitekorot, or reference rates, are benchmark interest rates used as the basis for pricing a wide range of financial contracts, such as loans, mortgages, and deposits. They serve as the base rate to which banks add a margin, so the final interest rate on a loan or the return on a deposit moves with market conditions.

In practice, the rate used in a contract is often a fixed tenor of a benchmark rate, such as 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months. The loan reference can reset at regular intervals (for example every three months), with the borrower’s rate changing in line with the published viitekorro. The contract typically specifies the chosen viitekorro and the margin, producing the total interest rate.

Common reference rates in Europe have included Euribor (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) and Eonia. Euribor has historically been widely used for consumer and corporate lending, while Eonia has largely been phased out in favor of other benchmarks. Since the 2020s, many new contracts reference risk-free or nearly risk-free rates such as the €STR (Euro Short-Term Rate) or other EUR-based benchmarks, while some older contracts still refer to Euribor. The transition to €STR-based rates is part of a broader move to more robust, manipulation-resistant benchmarks.

Publication and regulation: viitekorot are calculated from rates contributed by banks and published by benchmark administrators. Euribor is published by the European Money Markets Institute (EMMI); €STR is published by the European Central Bank. The benchmarks operate under regulatory oversight to ensure reliability and integrity, with ongoing transitions from legacy benchmarks to risk-free rate-based reference rates.