Apart from the RM200 one time set up fee and monthly RM10 maintenance fee, any hidden charges for full flexi loan? If I opt for ATM/debit card instead of cheque book will there be any annual fee? Also is there any withdrawal fee?

it's BR + Spread I guess. the lowest BR is Maybank. BR is set by banks not BNM (like BLR).

This post has been edited by ewanazwan: Feb 1 2015, 10:58 PM

Hey guys. Need some advises here.

Bank A:
BR(4%) + Spread (0.35%) = 4.35%
Full flexi
lock in period 3 years
tenure 35 years
MRTA 100% for 25 years = 14.8k
200 setup fee, rm10 monthly fee

Bank B:
BLR - 2.5% = 4.35% (still exist for me, special case)
semi flexi
lock in period 3 years
tenure 35 years
MRTA 80% for 25 years = 9.9k
Rm25 withdrawal (any branch, anytime w/out notice, even online banking)

Which one is better? I thank for you input in advance!

I assume that no other fees incurred except those as stated and further assume that withdrawal of excess funds is equally flexible in both scenarios. In this case, if you are not someone like businessman who may regularly have large cash in- and outflow, I think package offered by Bank B is more attractive as you probably have less frequency to withdraw the excess money. For loan package offered by Bank A, without doing anything you already have to incurred RM10x35x12 = RM4200 for the monthly fee, and of course the additional RM200 setup fee too over the loan tenor, whereas your loan with Bank B will not incur such expenses. For the RM4200+ RM200 = RM4400 that ypu will incur for the loan from Bank A, you will only incur the same if you withdraw RM4400/RM25 = 176 times over the loan tenor, which is roughly equivalent to 15 times a year. Do you forsee you make the withdrawal so frequent?

For loan of RM300K. I was offered interest of 4.45%, lock in 3yrs, semi flexi. Is it a good rate?

Since its under BR, since the spread is quite high as compared to other bank, wat will happen if the bank cost of fund increase on future. The interest will b higher than other banks which their spread is lower.

Yes, considered good rate for such a small loan amount.
If cost of fund increase, of course your effective lending rate will rise in tandem. In general, most if not all of the banks are exposed to the same factors that affect their cost of funds, e.g. the OPR. So if your bank increases its cost of funds, very likely other banks will do so too. Please refer to earlier posts for better understanding.

Yes consider reasonable rate for this loan amount, BR still not that stable will estimate change quite often compare with BLR. As if you notice maybank BR rate is low and profit margin is higher compare with others bank, so around march they might revise their rate again.

Haha... I bet none of the banks in town will change their BR in March.

what i'm saying is not BR, they will revise their profit BR + " 1.0 " the + spread part, maybe might revise to lower than current offer.

This post has been edited by ims2628: Feb 10 2015, 01:55 PM

Jason, is MBB loan with 3.2% + 1.25% wise to take? There has been different point of view where BR low is better vs BR will have much space more to adjust compared to those other banks which their BR is near 3.9X% What is your opinion on this?

Firstly, we should understand what are the components of BR. BR = benchmark cost of fund + statutory reserve requirement (SRR). Different banks may use different benchmark cost of fund but most (90%) use 3M KLIBOR. Those with low BR like MBB I believe is referenced against their blended cost of funds (eg CASA + FD etc).

Secondly, what will cause a change in BR? A change in SRR definitely will trigger a change. Revision in OPR almost for sure will cause a change in BR too as this is the prime reference rate whereby the cost of fund will be impacted in the same direction as the OPR, ie OPR hike will cause cost of fund to increase and vice versa. So regardless of what the benchmark cost of fund is used, if SRR and OPR change, the BR is expected to change as well. So, low BR doesn't mean that there is more room for adjustment.

As for the spread, it is made up of operating expenses / overhead cost, liquidity premium, credit risk component and the profit margin. A bank with larger loan spread doesn't mean that it is "greedy", ie charging you larger profit margin. It could be due to high overhead cost, different credit risk model used etc. So for MBB with lower BR but larger spread vis-a-vis other banks, I believe that the liquidity risk premium could be higher (to account for its money market borrowing etc). Of course it is also possibly charging you higher profit margin but without details I can't confirm.

Thanks for the explanation Jason. I was currently offered by MBB (3.2 + 1.25) and HLB (3.99 + 0.46), comparing both package all the feature almost the same. The only different is the rates on the BR and the spread. I have hard time to determine which should I choose to go with fearing in near future the BR might fluctuate more on the MBB. Any advise on this? Thanks

I see it as no difference.

But there is one thing that I want to highlight. KLIBOR is determined by the market and normally move ahead of the OPR. What I mean is that if the market anticipates a hike in OPR in the coming MPC Meeting, KLIBOR is likely to move higher ahead of the MPC meeting. Since the banks are required to set their internal policy to govern the revision in BR, if one of the preset trigger points is a major movement in KLIBOR (says +/-25 bps), then the banks' BR that reference against KLIBOR may need to adjust its BR earlier (before the OPR change) when the trigger point is hit, depends on how rigid/flexible the policy is set. And in this situation, MBB may keep its BR on hold until the OPR has changed which will then consequently changes the cost of fund and immediately followed by BR. This is what I think as I do not really have the privy access to MBB BR components - I might be wrong too but this is the reasonable explanation that I could think of (in terms of what constitutes the MBB BR)

You have to make your own decision. Good luck.

Hi, need some advises here.

All get 90% loan from prop 500k

Bank C*MB:
Full flexi
no lock in period
4.6% rate
tenure 35 years

Bank R*B:
Semi flexi
4.45% rate
tenure 35 years

Bank HL*:
Semi flexi
no lock in period
4.45% rate
tenure 33 years
withdrawal: RM50 per transaction


Which one is better? I thank for you input in advance!

FYI: all is islamic loan

Go for HLB if there no lock in period "double confirm any term and condition because base on what i know both RHB and HLB have 3 years lock in period, not sure it's only applied for full term loan for HLB.

Hi Guys ... My case which one is better?

Bank A:
BR(3.2%) + Spread (1.25%) = 4.45%
Semi flexi, RM25 per withdrawal (I am ok with this)
Got lock in period (not for house for own stay, not applicable)
Tenure 35 years
No need current account, no monthly fee

Bank B:
BR(3.9%) + Spread (0.6%) = 4.5%
Full flexi
Got lock in period (not for house for own stay, not applicable)
Tenure 28 years
rm10 monthly fee


One with low BR high Spread
The other with high BR low Spread
I was told to go for lowest ELR, but also need to watch out for the BR leh

The above case ... Both ELR similar ... I just worry months down the road ... If
Bank 1 = 3.4 (BR) + 1.25 = 4.65
Bank 2 = 4.0 (BR) + 0.6 = 4.6
Then is diff case ... Bcuz Bank-1 BR starts low, so room for increase is higher ... Which put higher spread to be at higher risk

This post has been edited by tcheric: Feb 16 2015, 09:02 AM

i was told that there are rumors that banks are gonna raise BR in Apr 2015 (BR is reviewed every 3 months). Any truth to the matter?

Was looking at refinancing my semi-flexi to a flexi, due to the current zero moving cost promo. However the EFR is 0.1% higher than my current loan. If BR goes up, it's double whammy.

Bump ...

Bank A:
BR(3.2%) + Spread (1.25%) = 4.45%
Semi flexi, RM25 per withdrawal (I am ok with this)
Got lock in period (not for house for own stay, not applicable)
Tenure 35 years
No need current account, no monthly fee

Bank B:
BR(3.9%) + Spread (0.6%) = 4.5%
Full flexi
Got lock in period (not for house for own stay, not applicable)
Tenure 28 years
rm10 monthly fee


One with low BR high Spread
The other with high BR low Spread

So ... I should go for Bank A or Bank B?

For the 1st 3 months when the BR came into effect on 2/1/2015, the banks are told not to change their BR. After that the banks have the discretion to revise their BR provided that the triggers set in their internal policies governing the BR are hit.

Do you withdraw the excess funds very often and that's the reason why you want more flexibility with full flexi loan? If not I will rather keep the loan as it is.

Actually wanted to withdraw all my FD and dump in, but want the peace of mind to be able to get to the cash without any redtape or processing on a rainy day.