Taiwan banks cut prime rate

State-run concerns Taiwan Co-operative Bank and Land Bank of Taiwan yesterday said they were cutting their prime lending rates by 0.025 percentage point with immediate effect. Taiwan Co-operative Bank said it was cutting its prime lending rate to 7.875 per cent from 7.90 per cent. Land Bank of Taiwan said its rate would be cut to 7.85 per cent from 7.875 per cent. They said their deposit rates would remain unchanged. These were the first rate cuts after recent rises by many Taiwan banks.