Hong Kong's major banks hold their interest rates steady on Thursday

Hong Kong's major banks kept their prime rates unchanged as expected on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve held the rates steady.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and BOC Hong Kong (2388) maintained their rates at 5 percent, following a decrease in October.

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) also held its rate at 5.25 percent.

The savings rate for their Hong Kong dollar savings deposits also remained unchanged.

Analysts believe there is no room for local banks to further reduce the prime rate.

Borrowing costs for home purchases are expected to stay at 3.25 percent in the first half, as the Hong Kong interbank offered rates remained elevated. 

The mortgage-linked one-month Hibor inched up to 2.44238 percent on Thursday. The rate is projected to fluctuate between 2 and 3 percent in the short run. It would need to drop below 1.95 percent to have an impact on the mortgage rates.

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