Taiwan's Central Bank Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged, No Easing on Property Market Controls

(CNA, Taipei, June 18, by reporter Pan Szu-yu) Taiwan's central bank held its second-quarter board of directors meeting today and announced its decision to keep policy interest rates unchanged. The outcome was as expected by the market, marking the ninth consecutive hold. Regarding property market control measures, the central bank stated that it continues to monitor the potential impact of real estate-related policies on the housing market, will conduct rolling reviews of the effectiveness of credit control measures, and will adjust their content as appropriate to promote financial stability and sound banking operations.

Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long's recent comment in the legislature that "property market controls end here" sparked heated debate, even leading to a celebratory rally in construction stocks. Subsequently, it was reported that the central bank was considering easing loan-to-value ratio restrictions for home-swappers. There was high public interest in whether the central bank would further relax controls after its "minor easing" in March, which raised the ceiling for second-home mortgage loans for individuals across Taiwan from 50% to 60%.

This afternoon, the central bank held its second-quarter board meeting. Considering the mild domestic inflation outlook and the expectation of stable domestic economic growth momentum, it decided to keep policy rates unchanged. The rediscount rate, collateralized loan rate, and short-term accommodation rate will remain at 2%, 2.375%, and 4.25% per annum, respectively.

Regarding property market controls, although the ratio of real estate loans to total loans for all banks (real estate loan concentration) has decreased from a high of 37.6% at the end of June 2024 to 35.2% at the end of May this year, the central bank did not ease property market control measures. It only stated that it would pay attention to the possible impact of real estate-related policies on the housing market, conduct rolling reviews of the implementation effectiveness of credit control measures, and adjust the content of related measures in a timely manner to promote financial stability and sound banking operations. (Editor: Pan Yi-ching) 1150618