CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行) is on April 23 to cut its interest rates on all mortgage loans, personal loans and revolving credit by 28 basis points following the central bank’s rate cut of 25 basis points last month.
The lender also plans to offer higher rate cuts for clients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, CTBC said yesterday.
“We have decided to trim the rates by 3 more basis points than the central bank’s cut of 25 basis points to satisfy clients’ expectations,” CTBC Financial head of financial management Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
She said the bank’s clients — such as people who have been infected with COVID-19 or have taken unpaid leave or lost their jobs due to the outbreak, as well as companies that have seen revenue drop more than 15 percent from a year earlier — could apply for better rates.
In addition, CTBC would reduce rates on mortgages less than NT$10 million (US$329,946) by 50 basis points and revolving credit rates by 75 basis points, Chiu said.
Clients affected by the pandemic could also apply for a grace period of three to six months for their debt payments, she said, adding that during the period, they would not need to pay late fees and would be charged lower interest rates.
Since last month, CTBC has approved more than 600 applications from individual clients and small and medium-sized enterprises to defer payments totaling NT$2 billion, she said.
“Although these measures would curb the growth of our interest income, we still hope to aid the affected people. And frankly speaking, this would help us prevent a rise in bad debt,” Chiu said.
Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) on Tuesday said it would cut rates on loans by 27 basis points and trim its revolving credit rates by a full percentage point.
After the cuts, the bank would likely reduce revolving rates to 0.68 percent for clients with a good credit card payment history, it said in a statement.
For clients affected by COVID-19, the lender would offer a reduction of 50 basis points on mortgage loans less than NT$10 million and a cut of 75 basis points on personal loans, it said.
After the reductions, its minimums of mortgage interest rates and the rates on personal loans would be lowered to 1.06 percent and 1.20 percent respectively, it added.
Most privately-run banks would cut their rates given the central bank’s move and the regulators’ supervision. Some might cut more in a bid to attract new customers,” a local bank manager said by telephone on the condition of anonymity.
However, it might not be easy for consumers to transfer their loans to a new bank just for the rate cuts, as loan transfers might also result in handling fees, he said.
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