Hong Kong's three banknote issuing banks keep their best interest rates unchanged, and the Hong Kong dollar is expected to divert interest rates above 3%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% as expected by the market, which is the first time since July 2023 that it has restarted interest rate hikes. The three note-issuing banks in Hong Kong, HSBC, Bank of China Hong Kong (02388) and Standard Chartered Hong Kong announced that interest rates will remain unchanged.

HSBC announced that it will keep its prime interest rate unchanged at 5%. The interest rate given to HKD savings accounts by HSBC remains unchanged. The annual interest rate is 0.001% for account balances of HK$5,000 or more; zero interest is maintained for accounts below HK$5,000.

Bank of China Hong Kong announced that the HKD prime interest rate and current savings deposit interest rate remained unchanged at 5% and 0.001% per annum, respectively.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong announced that the HKD Prime Loan Interest Rate will remain unchanged at 5.25%, and the HKD Savings Account interest rate will remain unchanged.

Cao Deming, chief vice president of Meridian Mortgage Referral, said that the US added 162,000 new non-farm payrolls in August, and the core CPI increased by 0.3% month on month. Both figures were higher than market expectations. Coupled with the recent rise in geopolitical conditions, the Federal Reserve was forced to raise interest rates early to prevent inflation data from continuing to soar.

Cho Tak Ming said that although the interest rate trend in Hong Kong is closely related to the trend of US interest rates, even if the US starts to raise interest rates, the Bank of Hong Kong does not need to immediately follow the adjustment of the best preferential interest rate (P). Referring to the 2022 to 2023 rate hike cycle, the US raised interest rates for the 5th time in September 2022, and Hong Kong only began to follow the rate hike for the first time, and the margin was only 0.125%. However, if HSBC did not follow the interest rate hike this time, it will still have a positive impact on the property market in the short term.

Today's one-month interbank interest rate (HIBOR) report was 2.9%. Cao Deming predicts that HIBOR will challenge the level of 3% or more in the short term. Based on the current calculation of H +1.3% according to the current plan and a capped interest rate of 3.25%, H will still need to supply the building at a capped interest rate during the year. On the other hand, at present, only one major bank has renewed its interest rate mortgage plan until the end of this year. Although the interest rate was raised from 2.73% to 2.93%, it is still 0.32% lower than the H limit. In the event that interest rates may rise again in the future, he expects that some customers will still choose fixed plans.

There are still uncertainties about the direction of interest rates and monetary policy in the US. Cao Deming suggested that property suppliers must have long-term and stable financial plans. Before entering the market, interested buyers should also regularly monitor interest rate trends, avoid running out of loans when applying for a mortgage, reserve sufficient capital, and choose suitable and affordable properties according to their own capabilities.