Japan’s biggest banks to raise housing loan rates after BOJ’s policy tweak

TOKYO  – Japan’s three biggest banks said on Friday they would raise interest rates for housing loans for next month, reflecting the Bank of Japan’s tweak in its ultra-loose policy.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, the main banking unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, will raise 10-year fixed-rate loans by 0.26 percentage point to 3.79 percent, while that rate for Mizuho Bank, the main banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group, will be 3.50 percent, up by 0.3 percentage point.

Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, the main banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will raise the rate by 0.18 percentage point to 3.7 percent.

Each bank has special loan programs for selected customers so their rates will be lower, with Sumitomo Mitsui charging 1.14 percent, Mizuho 1.60 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ 1.05 percent.

Japan’s central bank surprised the market last week by raising the cap on 10-year bond yield to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent.