Composite Interest Rate: End of March 2014

Press Releases

17 Apr 2014

Composite Interest Rate: End of March 2014

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Thursday) the composite interest rate at the end of March 2014.1

The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, increased slightly by 4 basis points to 0.41% at the end of March 2014, from 0.37% at the end of February 2014 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The rise in the composite interest rate in March reflected increases in the weighted funding cost for both deposits and interbank funds (see Chart 2 in the Annex).

The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of March 2014 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).  The next data release is scheduled for 19 May 2014 and will provide the composite interest rate at the end of April 2014.

 

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
17 April 2014


1 The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest bearing liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits on the books of banks.  Data from retail banks, which account for about 90% of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation.  It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses.  There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.


Annex

Chart 1

Annex-Chart1

End-of-period figures.

Chart 2

Annex-Chart2

End-of-period figures.

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Last revision date : 17 April 2014