Leading local banks on Thursday kept their interest rates steady after the city’s monetary authority left its key rate unchanged in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve’s move overnight.

HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China (Hong Kong) said their prime lending rates stayed unchanged at 5.875 percent.

Standard Chartered was also keeping its prime rate steady, at 6.125 per cent.

Their savings rates for Hong Kong dollar savings deposits also remained unchanged.

Earlier, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, announced it was keeping its key interest rate unchanged at 5.75 per cent, following the Fed’s move on Wednesday to hold its target rate steady at 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent.

“The market generally interpreted the Fed’s rate decision as interest rates nearing the peak, with a slightly larger extent of rate cuts next year than previously expected. Nevertheless, there remains uncertainty in the interest rate path and the high interest rate environment may last for some time,” according to a statement by the Monetary Authority.

It advised the public to carefully assess and manage the relevant risks when buying properties or taking out loans, adding that local financial markets have been operating in a “smooth and orderly” manner.

The rate pauses were the fourth such since the Fed started its rate-hike cycle in March last year.

The city’s one-month Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor), which is used to price the majority of local mortgages, dropped slightly to 5.4 percent following the pauses, marking the lowest since November 24.

The three-month Hibor, which determines corporate loans, stood at about 5.34 per cent, the lowest in one month.
_____________________________
Last updated: 2023-12-14 HKT 16:33