The Federal Reserve announced to raise interest rates by half a percentage point. The Chairman of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Yue Weiwen, said that the decision of the United States was in line with market expectations.
For the whole year, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates seven times, totaling 4.25%. He pointed out that the Fed’s post-meeting statement and the dot plot indicated that the U.S. interest rate hike cycle is not over, and interest rates will peak or rise, but this will not affect Hong Kong’s monetary and financial Stable, the linked exchange rate system is effective.
Yu Weiwen also said that under the linked exchange rate system, the Hong Kong dollar interbank rate will approach the U.S. dollar interbank rate. In fact, the Hong Kong dollar interbank rate has continued to rise, reflecting seasonal financial demand and a buoyant stock market.
He predicted that the Hong Kong dollar interest rate will remain at a high level in the future, which will also affect the bank deposit and loan interest rates. He called on the public to be prepared for the rise in bank deposit and loan interest rates, and carefully manage interest rate risks when borrowing and making mortgages.
Asked whether he would adjust the counter-cyclical measures of the property market, Yu Weiwen said that he would review it when necessary, but it mainly depends on changes in interest rates and property market cycles.
He also said that the current high ratio of mortgages, 90% of mortgages are borrowed in figures, and the decline in property prices will definitely have an impact. However, there are more bank staff who apply for this type of mortgage, and they take preferential loans, or have already taken out mortgages. The risk is transferred away from the banking system, so there is no impact on bank mortgage bad debts.
