State-Owned Banks' October Mortgage Rates Start at 2.5%, Up to 3.5% for Non-First-Time Buyers

Commercial Times reported that general new mortgage rates at state-owned banks in October have firmly settled at starting points of 2.5%–2.6%, while rates for non-first-time buyers are pushing above the 3% mark and can reach as high as 3.5%. The report said that, facing a cooling housing market and tightening lending funds, state-owned banks have fully begun restructuring their lending.

Among individual banks, Taiwan Cooperative Bank said its new non-policy mortgage rates in October ranged from 2.68% to 3.5%, higher than the range for January to September this year. Hua Nan Bank's new non-policy home purchase loan rates in October ranged from 2.55% to 2.6%; Chang Hwa Bank's new non-policy mortgage rates in October were about 2.5%–2.6% and above.

State-owned banks said actual loan rates vary with each customer's financial situation and other conditions. Because the central bank has kept interest rates unchanged and funding costs remain high, new mortgage rates are expected to stay at high levels or edge up before the end of the year, and the differences in mortgage terms between first-time buyers and multi-property owners will become more pronounced. Chang Hwa Bank estimates that the range and average of new mortgage rates will remain flat before the end of this year.

On screening, state-owned banks this year have been strictly selecting mortgage customers, enforcing mechanisms to prevent straw-buyer speculation, and shifting part of their business focus to non-home-purchase consumer loans and wealth management. Chang Hwa Bank requires customers buying a home for their own use to sign a "self-use affidavit" when applying for credit, and strengthens post-loan checks for those who claim self-use when buying shops, offices and the like; state-owned banks review credit under the "5P principles."

In a press release issued on October 22, 2026, the Central Bank said that in September the weighted average rate on new loans by the five major domestic banks (Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, First Bank, Hua Nan Bank and Land Bank of Taiwan) was 2.193%, up 0.006 percentage points from 2.187% in August. The Central Bank explained that, apart from a decline in home purchase loan rates, rates on all other types of loans rose.