The government will continue its policy of subsidizing additional interest payments on four categories of government loan, in response to the latest rate hike of 12.5 basis points by the local central bank, to ease the burden on borrowers, Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) said Friday.
Borrowers who have successfully applied to the government for one of four types of loan will not be affected by the increases in their respective interest rates, after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Thursday, Su said after a Cabinet meeting.
The government first introduced the policy in March and it applies to the entrepreneurship loan for startups and the bailout loan for businesses provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the student loan offered by the Ministry of Education, and the workers’ relief loan funded by the Ministry of Labor, the Cabinet said.
Amid the current global rate hike cycle to combat inflation, Taiwan’s central bank has raised its interest rates by 62.5 basis points since March, while the United States Federal Reserve has boosted its rates by 425 basis points over the same period.
Effective from Friday, the central bank’s discount rate will rise to 1.750 percent, while the rate on accommodations with collateral will grow to 2.125 percent, and the rate on accommodations without collateral will increase to 4.0 percent, according to the bank.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel