BEST PAID Govt leh? Yep, SUCK U TILL U DIE WITHOUT YOUR UNDERWEAR!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Taipei to cut rollover credit card interest rate
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Ho Ai Li , Taiwan Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->CONSUMERS in Taiwan will pay less for their rollover credit card bills under a government plan to lower the cap for interest rates on credit or cash card payments from 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
Besides credit card rates, the government also intends to bring down the ceiling for interest rates on unsecured personal loans from 20 per cent to 15.5 per cent, to ease the burden of debtors.
The new maximum interest rates will be finalised after a Bill on the proposed cuts passes through the legislature.
The Bill was expected to get the final nod yesterday after the executive branch and a caucus of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) agreed on the rates on Monday. But lawmakers from the opposition wanted further debate.
Still, given that the KMT makes up almost three-quarters of the legislature, the Bill is likely to go through.
About three million credit card users in Taiwan pay more than 15 per cent on outstanding balances on their bills.
Some academics have warned that the policy may backfire as banks might tighten their lending to 'high-risk' customers now that they cannot charge interest rates of up to 20 per cent.
Some banks might also stop offering credit card services with the lower profit margins, analysts said.
The cuts might also not benefit the average credit card consumer who pays his bill in full.
Consumers may lose out even more with banks reportedly planning to cut back on perks such as subscription fee waivers and free gifts in response to the reduction in interest rates.
=> And as usual the 154th lap dog will try their best to pour cold water on it! No fee waiver can cancel away the card, right?
Still, Dr Chen Miao, an economist with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, believed the reduction in interest rate ceiling might not affect the banks as badly as thought.
'It will affect their profitability but a 9 per cent return is still very good,' he said, referring to how the ceiling was derived from adding 9 percentage points to the Central Bank of China's interest rate for short-term loans without collateral, which now stands at 3.5 per cent. The interest rate cuts would increase people's disposable income and possibly help stimulate spending, he added.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Taipei to cut rollover credit card interest rate
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Ho Ai Li , Taiwan Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->CONSUMERS in Taiwan will pay less for their rollover credit card bills under a government plan to lower the cap for interest rates on credit or cash card payments from 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
Besides credit card rates, the government also intends to bring down the ceiling for interest rates on unsecured personal loans from 20 per cent to 15.5 per cent, to ease the burden of debtors.
The new maximum interest rates will be finalised after a Bill on the proposed cuts passes through the legislature.
The Bill was expected to get the final nod yesterday after the executive branch and a caucus of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) agreed on the rates on Monday. But lawmakers from the opposition wanted further debate.
Still, given that the KMT makes up almost three-quarters of the legislature, the Bill is likely to go through.
About three million credit card users in Taiwan pay more than 15 per cent on outstanding balances on their bills.
Some academics have warned that the policy may backfire as banks might tighten their lending to 'high-risk' customers now that they cannot charge interest rates of up to 20 per cent.
Some banks might also stop offering credit card services with the lower profit margins, analysts said.
The cuts might also not benefit the average credit card consumer who pays his bill in full.
Consumers may lose out even more with banks reportedly planning to cut back on perks such as subscription fee waivers and free gifts in response to the reduction in interest rates.
=> And as usual the 154th lap dog will try their best to pour cold water on it! No fee waiver can cancel away the card, right?
Still, Dr Chen Miao, an economist with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, believed the reduction in interest rate ceiling might not affect the banks as badly as thought.
'It will affect their profitability but a 9 per cent return is still very good,' he said, referring to how the ceiling was derived from adding 9 percentage points to the Central Bank of China's interest rate for short-term loans without collateral, which now stands at 3.5 per cent. The interest rate cuts would increase people's disposable income and possibly help stimulate spending, he added.
