| Vietnam Money-Overnight rates fall on ample supply | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 3:05:09 PM by Blog57 Team | | HANOI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's dong lending rates continued to fall in the past week on the interbank market amid ample short-term funds, bankers said on Monday. Four state-run banks, the country's key lenders, quoted overnight loans at between 6 percent and 6.3 percent, from a range of 6.5-7.5 percent last Monday and 7.8-8.0 percent two weeks ago . "Most banks are sitting on a lot of cash right now so short-term rates would stay low for now," a banker at a foreign bank in Ho Chi Minh City said. Bankers said attractive interest rates, as high as more than 9 percent per year, triggered a surge of around 26 percent in dong deposits at banks last year while lending only grew by 17 percent during the same period, resulting in a surplus. "The surplus should only be temporary as borrowing demand especially for long-term funds for capital investment and infrastructure development by large corporations is enormous," another banker in Hanoi said.... | |
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| | | Adjustable loans lose some luster | | Posted Sunday, December 17, 2006 1:06:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | Many borrowers are refinancing to switch out of adjustable-rate mortgages, known as ARMs, local lenders say. Rates on ARMs rise as interest rates increase, making the loans progressively more expensive. "We're finding people want to get out of the ARMs," said Jennifer Goldbach, president of Lancaster-based HomeSale Mortgage Services, which has four lenders in the Harrisburg area. ARMs made up less than 20 percent of new mortgages in the third quarter, down from roughly a third of the total in 2005, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Interest rates on ARMs are lower than on fixed mortgages, but the difference between rates is smaller than it has been. The average interest rate on a one-year ARM last week was 5.45 percent, while the average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.12 percent, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.... | |
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| | | Vietnam Money-Corporate demand for funds rise, rates up | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 11:22:06 AM by Blog57 Team | | HANOI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Interest rates on overnight and six-month loans in the Vietnamese dong firmed on Monday even though funds were ample, indicating a stronger corporate borrowing demand for longer term funds, bankers said. State-run banks, Vietnam's key lenders, bid for overnight dong loans at 6.6-6.8 percent this week, from 6.4-6.8 percent last Monday and 5.9-6.2 percent two weeks ago . Six-month loan rates extended to 8.2-8.7 percent from a range of 8.2-8.6 percent in the past month. "Most banks have maintained sufficient short-term funds thanks to strong dong deposits so far this year but everyone is after the longer-term funds," said a banker in Hanoi. "In the next five years demand for long-term loans with maturity of between three to five years or even longer from large companies for capital investment is huge," another banker said.... | |
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| | | Banks waste no time on rates | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 3:23:48 AM by Blog57 Team | | ALL of the four major banks have lifted their variable standard home loan interest rates following a central bank rate hike earlier in the week. Home buyers had been bracing themselves for the moves since the Reserve Bank of Australia raised official rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.25 per cent on Wednesday. ANZ Banking Group, Westpac Banking Corp and Commonwealth Bank of Australia yesterday all cranked up their home loan rates by the same amount to 8.07 per cent. National Australia Bank was the first off the mark when it put up rates on Thursday, lifting its standard variable rate to 8.07 per cent effective from yesterday. Its base home loan rate rises by a similar amount to 7.57 per cent on Monday. Westpac's new rates are effective from yesterday, the Commonwealth's from Monday and ANZ's from Tuesday.... | |
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| | | Wisconsin will miss wave of refinancing | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 4:04:52 AM by Blog57 Team | | Some experts predict a wave of mortgage refinancing next year, especially in markets like California and Florida where soaring home prices forced many buyers into risky "pay-option" adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) or interest-only loans. In Wisconsin and elsewhere, however, where fixed-rate loans are more popular and home price increases have been more reasonable, the refinancing share of the mortgage market is expected to decline slightly next year, according to a recent forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Low interest rates have caused a recent increase in mortgage refinancing nationally and in southern Wisconsin. With interest rates for standard ARMs close to those for 30-year fixed-rate loans, lenders say people with ARMs that are reaching their term or those with non-prime loans, such as higher-rate loans for buyers with credit problems, should consider refinancing.... | |
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| | | Dollar Falls on Speculation of Higher Rates in Japan and Europe | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:09:26 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar declined the most in more than a week versus the yen and euro as the spread between U.S. and Japanese bond yields narrowed amid speculation interest rates will rise faster in Japan and Europe. Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui pledged to ``take action in advance'' on monetary policy, suggesting the bank will increase its key interest rate for a second time. The dollar fell earlier after Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said nations that buy U.S.-denominated assets may pare their investments. ``Fukui's comments were directly responsible for driving Japanese yields up, and therefore the yen,'' said Lara Rhame, a New York-based senior currency strategist at Credit Suisse. ``The dollar has been trading in step with relative yields.'' The dollar fell to 117.70 yen at 3:16 p.m.... | |
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| | | Higher Rates Spur 'Cash-Out' Refinancings | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 7:15:54 PM by Blog57 Team | | Spurred by higher interest rates on their adjustable mortgages and home equity loans, many homeowners are refinancing their mortgages -- and taking out bigger loans in the process. In the third quarter of 2006, more homeowners did "cash-out" refinancing than during any quarter since 1990, mortgage financing company Freddie Mac said last week. Eighty-nine percent of loans owned by Freddie Mac that were refinanced last quarter nationwide were so-called "cash-out" transactions -- that is, they resulted in new loans that were at least 5 percent larger than the unpaid balance on the original loan, the company said on Wednesday. Often, homeowners who increase their loan balances do so to borrow extra money from the equity they have in their homes -- hence pulling "cash out" -- for remodeling projects or education expenses.... | |
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| | | 73% Of Japan Consumer Loans At 'Gray Zone' Rates - Kyodo | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 11:26:33 AM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Of the total amount of money consumers owed nonbank credit firms during the lenders' fiscal 2005 business year, 73.1% was taken out at so- called "gray zone" interest rates above 20%, the Financial Services Agency said Wednesday, Kyodo News reported. According to the report, outstanding balance of uncollateralized consumer loans extended at these high rates stood at some Y11.4 trillion, the financial regulatory body said. The biggest percentage of loans, or 23%, was taken out at rates ranging from over 28.0% to 29.2%, Kyodo reported. The total outstanding balance of uncollateralized consumer loans came to Y15.58 trillion, the report said. At present, moneylenders are required to honor a 15%-20% ceiling on consumer loan rates, according to loan amounts, under the Interest Rate Restrictions Law.... | |
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| | | Interest rate hike not aimed at making loans costlier: Govt | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 11:18:01 AM by Blog57 Team | | New Delhi, Nov 1: Amid speculations that home and personal loan rates may go up, Government today said the 0.25 per cent hike in Reserve Bank's short term lending rate is not intended to make loans costlier but to make banks self sufficient for lending."It (Repo rate hike) is not intended to make loans expensive," Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal said, responding to a query on whether loans would become costlier after the revised repo rate yesterday.Respective boards of the banks have to take decisions on lending rates and the government has no role in it, he said.Bansal said the 0.25 per cent increase in repo rate to 7.25 per cent is intended to contain inflation and manage liquidity.Raising the repo rate is only a signal that getting liquidity from the RBI would be expensive, RBI Governor Y V Reddy said after releasing the annual policy review statement yesterday.He said there is a need for greater fairness and transparency in regard to the housing sector because of complaints in this regard.Though banks with enough liquidity see no immediate rate hike including in the home and auto loan segment.They were of the view that home loans above Rs 20 lakh, personal and consumer loans, loans for investing in equity market may be repriced by the banks facing liquidity problem and borrow from RBI to meet short term requirements.RBI wants banks to lend to the extent of their own resources mobilised through deposits and not be aggressive in lending to the non-productive sectors.... | |
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| | | ARM holders bank on refinancing loans | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 3:06:29 AM by Blog57 Team | | NEW YORK -- Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages worry about rising interest rates, but many believe they will be able to refinance their loans if necessary, according to a study released today. A survey of homeowners conducted for Wells Fargo & Co., the San Francisco-based bank, found that about one in seven respondents had an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. With an ARM, the interest rate rises or falls, often in lockstep with an underlying security such as a Treasury bond. The study found that nearly 80 percent of homeowners with ARMs said they were "somewhat" concerned, "very" concerned or "extremely" concerned about rate increases. But more than half said they believed they could refinance their loans. And about 20 percent said they were prepared for rate adjustments and didn't plan any changes.... | |
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