Share

FNB urges consumers to repay debt amid rate relief

Cape Town - First National Bank (FNB) will maintain its prime lending rate at 10.5%, the bank said in a statement.

This follows a decision taken earlier on Thursday by the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) Monetary Policy Committee to leave interest rates unchanged until the final MPC meeting for 2016 on 24 November.  

This decision applies to all prime-linked accounts.

“We are seeing a gradual recovery in business activity from a sharp contraction earlier in the year,” said FNB CEO Jacques Celliers in reaction to the rate decision. “Consumers, however, remain extremely cautious and low levels of confidence are restraining growth.” 

Celliers said the period of stable interest rates offers indebted consumers an ideal opportunity to reduce their lending and create greater personal financial stability.

“We continue to see stable credit health across our consumer and business sectors; indicating that the majority of customers are weathering current tough conditions.”

At Thursday’s interest rate announcement, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said consumption expenditure by households remains weak despite a return to positive GDP growth in the second quarter of this year.

In July, retail trade sales declined further in contrast to positive wholesale trade sales, while new vehicle sales continued their negative trend in July and August.

"The outlook for consumption expenditure growth is expected to remain constrained, given the unfavourable employment outlook, the absence of significant positive wealth effects, and the slow pace of growth of real disposable income of households,” he added.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.98
-0.4%
Rand - Pound
23.99
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.52
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
900.15
+0.4%
Palladium
1,000.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,213.05
+0.8%
Silver
24.68
+0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,324
+1.0%
All Share
74,499
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,210
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,820
+0.5%
Financial 15
16,514
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders