<Anchor> This is a
friendly economic time. Today (the 4th) I will be with reporter Han Ji-yeon. It is expected that interest rates will rise this year. There seems to be predictions and prospects that the Bank of Korea will raise it two or three times.
<Reporter>
Yes, it is. Last year, the key interest rate was lowered to 0.5% to stimulate the economy due to the corona virus. Since the interest rate of 0% has been maintained for over a year, household debt has increased tremendously as each and every one of you took out loans to the extent that the word 'young-chul' comes out.
Now that we are going to reduce this, we raised the base interest rate to 1% in August and November last year. Also, as you said, it looks like it will be raised two or three more times this year, and if this happens, the interest rate on the loan I borrowed will also increase.
Since there are many variable rate products such as mortgage loans, jeonse loans, and credit loans, if this happens, the interest on the loan that I have to pay will inevitably increase.
<Anchor> That's
right. In a situation where it went up last year and is expected to rise this year as well, if the interest rate rises, it seems that a lot of people will flock to the fixed rate rather than the variable rate, which rises with interest.
<Reporter>
Yes, as you said, when interest rates rise, it's good to have a fixed interest rate that is not affected by interest rate hikes.
However, it is natural to avoid variable interest rates even if you have already done so, as the interest burden increases.
In November of last year, the interest rate on bank loans was the highest in seven years. However, when I looked at new household loans during this period, it was found that the variable interest rate accounted for as much as 82.3%.
It is said to be the highest in 7 years and 10 months, almost 8 years. It was 53% right before the corona virus, and it was 63.8% in the ultra-low interest rate environment last year. However, in the context of raising interest rates, the proportion increased by 20-30% in one to two years.
<Anchor>
Why is that?
<Reporter>
The reason is that until recently, the variable rate was lower than the fixed rate. If we were to continue talking about November, when we compared the fixed rate and the variable rate of the four major commercial banks at the time, the variable rate was 0.3 percentage points. It was cheaper.
But in this situation, if you want to choose a fixed rate, you must be confident that the interest rate will jump by 0.3 percentage points or more during the period of borrowing money, so you can choose a fixed rate.
However, since the corona shows no signs of abating, it is analyzed that the perception that interest rates will not rise as much as expected in the future has become stronger.
In general, fixed rates are more likely to be higher than floating rates. This is because, in general, long-term interest rates are higher than short-term interest rates, and in the case of banks, fixed interest rates must also reflect the risk of volatility.
However, as the market interest rate surge has calmed down a bit in the past month, the fixed rate has been lowered by 0.1 percentage point than the floating rate.
<Anchor>
Now, I think many of you are worried about what to do next, especially this year, but the interest rate seems to go up anyway this year. So, is it better to switch to a fixed rate? Or how about?
<Reporter> It
's not always good to change. You have to make a decision carefully considering these pros and cons. First, you need to consider the prepayment fee.
Usually, in the case of the main lender, a fee of up to 1.2% is charged if it has not been 3 years from the date of receiving the loan. If you switch after considering the interest rate and say, "The prepayment fee is higher than reducing the interest," it's rather a loss.
So, you have to figure out how much of the loan period is left. However, depending on the bank, some of these fees are waived, so you should check this part carefully.
Second, it is necessary to check the additional interest rate at the time of receiving the loan. The additional interest rate refers to the risk-weighted interest rate, which is calculated by adding up the bank's labor and business costs.
In general, the loan interest rate is determined by adding an additional interest rate to the base interest rate and subtracting the preferential interest rate from this.
If the added interest rate at the time of borrowing in the past is significantly lower than the current extended interest rate, it would be better not to change the base rate even if the base rate is raised.
Lastly, you need to check whether the loanable amount is reduced according to the DSR regulation.
If I borrow more than 200 million won from this year, the annual principal plus interest cannot exceed 40% of my annual income.
If you change it, it becomes a new loan.
So, you may not be able to get as much as the existing loan, so you need to consult enough.