BoB interest rate hikes: Who gains and who loses?
Friday, July 15, 2022 | 350 Views |
Tough times: Interest rate hikes make loan repayments costlier PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
In April, the BoB increased the newly introduced Monetary Policy Rate (MoPR) by 51 basis points (0.51%) from 1.14% to 1.65%.
The latest increase is 50 basis points (0.5%) and takes the MoPR to 2.15%. The MoPR is the rate at which BoB lends money to commercial banks. It affects the prime lending rate which is the rate at which commercial banks charge consumers for borrowing money. The prime lending rate is higher than the MoPR to enable banks to cover their basic profit margin.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...