Hong Kong banks on Thursday followed the overnight decision of the United States Federal Reserve to leave their base rates unchanged.
The base rates of banks such as the Hang Seng Bank, the note- issuing HSBC, or the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and the Bank of China Hong Kong, were unchanged at 5.25 percent, with the savings account interest rates also unchanged.
The Standard Chartered, another note-issuer, and the Bank of East Asia also made no adjustments to their base rates, which were currently at 5.50 percent.
The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar and banks in the city typically follow the moves of the U.S. Federal Reserve in their rate changes.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Joseph Yam said it was good for the Federal Reserve to leave the current interest rate unchanged, but whether the decision will have a positive effect on inflation remains to be monitored.
Some small and medium banks, however, said they may have to raise their mortgage lending rates by 10 to 25 basis points due to rising interbank offered rates.
Source: Xinhua
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