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Saturday 27 September 2008
HSBC Raises Rates for New Homebuyers
HSBC, the largest mortgage lender in Hong Kong, will raise its interest rate for new homebuyers to offset higher funding costs stemming from the recent global financial turmoil. PDF
HSBC, the largest mortgage lender in Hong Kong, will raise its interest rate for new homebuyers to offset higher funding costs stemming from the recent global financial turmoil.
The lender, which had a 19.6 per cent market share as of last month, will lift its mortgage interest rates by 50 basis points. Interest rates on new home loans of HK$1.5 million or more will increase to 3.25 per cent from 2.75 per cent, or from 2.5 percentage points below the prime lending rate to 2 percentage points below prime. Rates on new home loans below HK$1.5 million will rise to 3.5 per cent.
The revised offer will take effect on Monday. Cash rebates, which range from 0.2 per cent to 0.5 per cent remain unchanged.
The increase means a new homebuyer borrowing HK$1.5 million over 20 years will pay about HK$375 more per month - about HK$90,000 more over the term of the loan.
Peter Wong Tung-shun, an executive director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, the Asia- Pacific unit of HSBC Holdings, said the rate rise was due to higher interbank rates. “Local interbank rates of one month to three months have surged to over 3 per cent recently [amid a tightened credit environment],” he said.
Whether the bank adjusted interest rates further depended on market conditions.
The financial crisis in the US has made institutions around the world reluctant to lend to each other.
The benchmark Hong Kong three-month interbank rate, the fee banks charge each other, rose to 3.45 per cent yesterday from 2.22 per cent early this month when the subprime crisis had yet to be exacerbated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
HSBC last raised mortgage rates in July, when interbank rates also shot up amid a weakened stock market and volatile global markets.
“Other lenders will eventually ... raise mortgage rates due to lingering interbank rates,” said Castor Pang Wai-sun, Sun Hung Kai’s financial strategist. “Banks have been going back to basics by asking for a reasonable profit margin for their mortgage business. The narrowing interest margin has already gobbled up their bottom line.”
Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Bank of East Asia said yesterday their mortgage rates remain unchanged.
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HSBC Raises Rates for New Homebuyers
Natalie Chiu and Maria Chan
27 September 2008
HSBC, the largest mortgage lender in Hong Kong, will raise its interest rate for new homebuyers to offset higher funding costs stemming from the recent global financial turmoil.
The lender, which had a 19.6 per cent market share as of last month, will lift its mortgage interest rates by 50 basis points. Interest rates on new home loans of HK$1.5 million or more will increase to 3.25 per cent from 2.75 per cent, or from 2.5 percentage points below the prime lending rate to 2 percentage points below prime. Rates on new home loans below HK$1.5 million will rise to 3.5 per cent.
The revised offer will take effect on Monday. Cash rebates, which range from 0.2 per cent to 0.5 per cent remain unchanged.
The increase means a new homebuyer borrowing HK$1.5 million over 20 years will pay about HK$375 more per month - about HK$90,000 more over the term of the loan.
Peter Wong Tung-shun, an executive director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, the Asia- Pacific unit of HSBC Holdings, said the rate rise was due to higher interbank rates. “Local interbank rates of one month to three months have surged to over 3 per cent recently [amid a tightened credit environment],” he said.
Whether the bank adjusted interest rates further depended on market conditions.
The financial crisis in the US has made institutions around the world reluctant to lend to each other.
The benchmark Hong Kong three-month interbank rate, the fee banks charge each other, rose to 3.45 per cent yesterday from 2.22 per cent early this month when the subprime crisis had yet to be exacerbated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
HSBC last raised mortgage rates in July, when interbank rates also shot up amid a weakened stock market and volatile global markets.
“Other lenders will eventually ... raise mortgage rates due to lingering interbank rates,” said Castor Pang Wai-sun, Sun Hung Kai’s financial strategist. “Banks have been going back to basics by asking for a reasonable profit margin for their mortgage business. The narrowing interest margin has already gobbled up their bottom line.”
Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Bank of East Asia said yesterday their mortgage rates remain unchanged.
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