7:23 am, Tue April 11, 2017

The Bank of  Jamaica’s latest Credit Conditions Survey shows lending rates continue to inch down.

Creditors indicated that there was an overall decline in weighted average lending rates on new personal loans to 17.6 per cent during the December 2016 quarter.

This was lower than the expected average rate of 17.9 per cent and the average of 18.2 per cent for the September 2016 quarter.

The lower rate for the review period was mainly reflected on mortgages, motor vehicle loans as well as secured and unsecured loans.

Meanwhile, for the March 2017 quarter, lenders anticipate a moderate growth in demand for personal credit, given the expectation of  continued easing in lending conditions for unsecured personal loans, motor vehicles, mortgages as well as credit cards.

Lenders also anticipate that credit demand will continue to be driven by loan promotional activities and lower interest rates.