Japan's biggest banks to raise housing loan rates after BOJ's policy tweak

Japan’s three biggest banks said on Friday (Dec 30) they would raise interest rates for housing loans for next month, reflecting the Bank of Japan’s tweak in its ultra-loose policy.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, the main banking unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, will raise 10-year fixed-rate loans by 0.26 percentage point to 3.79 per cent, while that rate for Mizuho Bank, the main banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group, will be 3.50 per cent, up by 0.3 percentage point.

Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, the main banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will raise the rate by 0.18 percentage point to 3.7 per cent.

Each bank has special loan programmes for selected customers so their rates will be lower, with Sumitomo Mitsui charging 1.14 per cent, Mizuho 1.60 per cent and Mitsubishi UFJ 1.05 per cent.

Japan’s central bank surprised the market last week by raising the cap on 10-year bond yield to 0.5 per cent from 0.25 per cent. REUTERS