Posted at 12:33 p.m., Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Local banks raise prime rate to 5.75 percent
Advertiser Staff
First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawaii said they will raise their prime lending rates to 5.75 percent from 5.5 percent effective tomorrow in response to the Federal Reserve's hike in short-term interest rates.The prime rate is a benchmark for interest rates on may types of loans offered by commercial banks.
The Fed, citing rising inflationary pressures, today nudged its key short-term interest rate up for the seventh time since June and signaled it will keep raising it in coming months to prevent inflation from taking off.
Fed policymakers unanimously agreed to raise the benchmark federal funds rate to 2.75 percent from 2.5 percent. They have lifted the rate by a quarter-percentage point at each of their last seven meetings, from 1 percent in June.
