Banks to raise fixed housing loan rates

Jiji Press

9:00 JST, December 29, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Major banks are expected to raise their fixed housing loan rates next January after a Bank of Japan policy tweak pushed up long-term interest rates.

MUFG Bank and four others are seen announcing such moves soon.

Banks set fixed rates for the initial 10-year loan period, a popular segment, based on long-term interest rates on the bond market.

The yield on the newest 10-year Japanese government bond issue, a market benchmark, shot up from around 0.25% to over 0.4% after the BOJ raised its cap on long-term rates to 0.5% from 0.25%.