BEA to raise Hibor home loan rate

The Bank of East Asia will raise its mortgage interest rate based on the Hong Kong Interbank Offer Rate, or Hibor. The rate will be increased today from Hibor plus 0.75-0.8 per cent to Hibor plus 0.8-1 per cent for both the one-month and three-month Hibor mortgage plans. BEA's prime-based mortgage plan remains unchanged at prime minus 2.8 per cent. The bank's prime rate is 5.25 per cent. Cash rebates will be kept at 0.5 per cent to 0.8 per cent for loans of HK$800,000 or above. Several other banks including Citibank, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank have raised their Hibor mortgage plans in the past month.