Six Hong Kong banks stand pat on rates as wait for borrowing-cost relief extends
- HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, BOCHK, DBS, Standard Chartered and Citibank all kept their rates the same in the wake of the Fed’s decision on Thursday
Hong Kong’s six major lenders, including note-issuing banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong), kept their key lending and deposit rates unchanged on Thursday, meaning mortgage borrowers and companies face a longer wait for relief from high borrowing costs.
BOCHK, HSBC and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank kept their prime lending rate at 5.875 per cent, while paying 0.875 per cent per annum for savings deposits over HK$5,000 (US$640) and nothing to those below that, the three banks said in separate statements on Thursday.
DBS Hong Kong kept its prime rate unchanged at 6 per cent and its savings deposit rate at 0.23 per cent to 0.75 per cent, depending on the amount. Standard Chartered and Citibank kept their lending rates at 6.125 per cent.
The HKMA kept Hong Kong’s base rate unchanged for the seventh time at 5.75 per cent, in lockstep with the Fed’s move hours earlier. The de facto central bank has followed the Fed’s rate decisions in lockstep since 1983 under its linked exchange rate system to preserve the local currency’s peg to the US dollar.
