Chemical Bank Says It Has Lowered Rates On Certain Loans
NEW YORK -- Chemical Bank said it's reducing interest rates on a variety of consumer loans.</br></br>But many banks are still holding back, bringing down consumer borrowing rates slowly, if at all.</br></br>Chemical said it is reducing its annual rates for fixed-rate home equity loans to 13.9%, plus three points, from 14.9%; for fixed-rate unsecured personal loans of more than $5,999 to 16.5% from 17.25%, and for fixed-rate new-car and boat loans of more than $5,999 to 14.5% from 14.9%. Points represent a one-time payment to a lender, with each point equal to one percentage point of the face amount of the loan.</br></br>Banks in general have kept many consumer loan rates high, despite steep drops in interest rates they charge business borrowers and in rates consumers get on deposits.</br></br>The reduction in consumer loan rates at Chemical, a unit of Chemical New York Corp., the nation's sixth largest bank holding company, "is a relatively big drop, but the key is whether the other major banks will follow," says Robert Heady, publisher of Bank Rate Monitor, a Miami Beach, Fla., newsletter that follows bank deposit and lending rates.