KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): Half of the total loan accounts in the household sector are fixed-rate loans that are not affected by the 100 basis point increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) last year, said Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

As of December 2022, he said 50.3% of the total loan accounts in the household sector are fixed-rate type loans.

At the same time, an estimated 54.8% of loan accounts of low-income borrowers, with an income of less than RM5,000 per month, are on fixed-rate loans.

“The government certainly does not deny that the cumulative increase in the OPR by 100 basis points from 1.75% to 2.75% last year, to some extent, has had an impact on borrowers and traders who have floating-rate loans due to the increase in monthly instalments faced by them,” Anwar said in a parliamentary written reply on Tuesday (Feb 28).

“However, not all borrowers are affected by the OPR increase because only borrowers with floating-rate type loans are affected by the OPR increase,” he said.

Anwar was responding to Arau Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim, who asked the minister to state the government's immediate action to help reduce the burden of those affected by the sudden increase in the OPR.

This article was amended for accuracy.

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