MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The average cost of new home mortgages in Italy eased to 4.42% in December, while the cost of corporate loans continued to rise, data from the banking association ABI showed on Tuesday.
The average rate on new home mortgages was 4.50% in November.
ABI Deputy Director General Gianfranco Torriero told a media call it was the first proper drop in 24 months, while other apparent falls over this period had been caused by changes in the relative weight of floating and fixed-rate mortgages.
"For households, 80% of new home mortgages are fixed-rate, while companies mostly borrow at a floating rate," Torriero said.
The Euribor rate used to price floating rate debt is currently higher than the IRS rate used for fixed rate loans, he added.
The average cost of new loans to businesses stood at 5.69% last month, up from 5.59% the month before, ABI said. (Reporting by Valentina Za and Stefano Bernabei; editing by Cristina Carlevaro and)
