7 Jun 2007

Fiji's ANZ lowers interest rates

11:37 am on 7 June 2007

Fiji's largest commercial bank, the ANZ Group, has announced a reduction in the interest it charges on loans by half a per cent from the beginning of July.

The Fiji Times reports that the bank's business loan index rate, variable home loan and variable property investment loan rates will all be reduced by 0.5%.

The ANZ's general manager in Fiji, Robert Bell, says the increase in interest rates in 2006 and early this year had a negative impact on businesses as they came at a time when many businesses experienced a negative impact on sales and turnover.

He says the main reason for the reduction in lending rates was the improvement in liquidity over the past few months resulting from a slowdown in the demand for money.