[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] According to the Financial Services Commission on the 7th, the Financial Services Commission recently asked the Financial Supervisory Service to check whether the interest rate on credit transaction loans by securities firms is appropriate. An FSS official said, "We will look into whether the rising interest rate is justifiable and reasonable while market interest rates go down."
Credit transaction loans are a kind of loan in which securities firms lend stock purchase funds to individual investors and receive interest. Interest income on credit transaction loans earned from 29 securities firms amounted to KRW 1.2467 trillion (cumulated in the third quarter of last year). The interest rate on credit transaction loans is determined by setting the benchmark interest rate such as commercial paper (CP) or transferable deposit certificate (CD) interest rate, and then adding additional interest rates such as credit premium, business cost, target return, and capital cost.
Market interest rates have been on the decline one after another this year. The CP rate, which hit a maximum of 5.54% in December last year, fell more than 1% point to 4.32% on the 6th. CD 91 daily interest rates also fell from 4.03% to 3.37% during the same period. However, the interest rate on credit transaction loans of securities firms has been on the rise in the new year.
Yuanta Securities will raise interest rates by 0.05 to 0.25 percentage points for each customer from the 13th, and Mirae Asset Securities will raise interest rates (currently 4.9 percent) for 1 to 7 days of credit loan use from the 27th. Hi Investment & Securities will also change its interest rate from the current 7.1 to 9.6 percent to 7.1 to 9.9 percent from the 1st of next month. NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Daishin Securities, Meritz Securities, and SK Securities, which have already risen, are applying interest rates in the late 9% range, while Samsung Securities (10.1%) and Shinhan Investment & Securities (10.0%) are applying interest rates in the late 9% range.
Securities firms say it is the result of their own calculation methods and management strategies, including account design methods, procurement structures and credit premiums.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
