Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday rebutted criticism from legislators that the government had yielded to pressure from banks in proposing an alternative credit card and cash card interest rate.
The criticism came after the government proposed a cap of 15.5 percent on credit card and cash card interest rates instead of the 12.5 percent agreed on by a legislative committee.
During a question-and-answer session with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), the premier said the government had applied pressure on banks and urged them to accept a lower rate.
The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee passed the preliminary review of a proposed amendment to the Civil Code (民法) on Thursday last week that would lower the maximum interest rate for credit cards and cash cards from 20 percent to 12.5 percent.
Lu said at the committee meeting that it was unfair for banks to make profits by imposing “usury” on cardholders. However, the Financial Supervisory Commission and banks across the nation have expressed opposition to the proposal.
Late on Monday night, the Executive Yuan resolved not to amend the interest rate cap in the Civil Code, but proposed that the cap be set at 15.5 percent, based on the maximum 12 percent interest rate for non-collateralized loans set by the central bank, plus a floating annual rate set at 3.5 percent.
The premier promised yesterday to convene more negotiations with lawmakers over the proposal.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) accused the Executive Yuan of infringing upon the Legislative Yuan’s authority by accepting the banks’ suggestions while rejecting the legislature’s version.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she disagreed, saying that many cardholders were unable to pay off debt because of the high interest rates.
Also See: Banks oppose interest rate ceiling
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