BNM Cuts OPR To 1.75%: 3 Significant Impacts On Malaysians

UPDATED 07 JUL 2020 – BY NISYA AZIZ

Boom! You’ve heard the news -  Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has decided to reduce the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) for the FOURTH time this year by 25 basis points to 1.75%. It’s the lowest since 2010.  But, why?

As reported by The Star, BNM shared: “For Malaysia, economic activity contracted sharply in the second quarter of the year, due to measures introduced to contain the pandemic globally and domestically. Following the gradual and progressive re-opening of the economy since early May, economic activities have begun to recover from the trough in the second quarter.

“The pace and strength of the recovery, however, remain subject to downside risks emanating from both domestic and external factors.

“These include the prospect of further outbreaks of the pandemic leading to re-impositions of containment measures, more persistent weakness in labour market conditions, and a weaker-than-expected recovery in global growth.

“The fiscal stimulus packages, alongside monetary and financial measures, will continue to underpin the improving economic outlook.” 

To simplify it, when the economy is slowing down, BNM will reduce the OPR bands to encourage domestic spending to boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. 

Okay, but what is OPR? 

To those who aren’t exactly sure what is OPR - it’s the benchmark for commercial lending and deposit rates, which will be charged by the lending bank to its borrower bank for the borrowed funds.

Additionally, the rate decided isn’t random but takes into account various economic indicating factors, such as inflation, economic growth, possible risks – basically, the overall economic outlook. BNM will adjust the rate according to how much money they want in circulation versus how much is tied up in savings.

How will it affect me, financially? Besides the weakening Ringgit...

1. Your cost of borrowing will be lessened.

A lower OPR would trigger the local banks to adjust their lending base rate (BLR) and base financing rate (BFR). This would then indirectly affect the interest rates - which means lowered costs for borrowing or refinancing an existing home loan.

For example, Maybank’s Base Rate was at 2.75% before the OPR reduction announcement. Now, it’s at 2.5%.  With this, the interest rate for existing floating rate loans will be adjusted accordingly, which means borrowers would see a reduction in their monthly payment. And, the new loans will follow the current rates.

So, whether it’s a car loan, personal loan, credit cards or home loan, you will benefit from the OPR reduction. As a consumer, your spending capacity will increase and you’ll able to save. Not to mention, you’ll be able to make repayment for a shorter period.

2. Interest earnings from savings and fixed deposits will drop.

If you have high savings or are investing in fixed deposits, do know that the OPR cut isn’t something you’ll be happy about. This is because the interest rates on these accounts will be reduced as well. Yikes! Which means you’ll be getting a lower interest rate as compared to before. 

Perhaps, you want to re-assess your savings or investment strategy so that you can get optimal returns. Having said that, if you’ve placed your money before the revised rate, it’ll remain the same.

3. It’s a great time to invest in Malaysian real estate investment trusts (M-REITs).

Because of the lower interest payments, it can guarantee more savings and a larger disposable income for you investors out there. You could also increase your investment.

Affin Hwang Capital Research shared that over the long run, a lower OPR should also lower the finance costs of MREITs and lift earnings, although the impact on near-term profit to be minimal. The research house added that for 2020, the 25bps OPR rate cut is expected to have a muted impact of under 1% of the MREITs' earnings, it said.

Disclaimer: Loanstreet