ADB lowers rate for dollar loans

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered for the second time this year its lending rate for US dollar pool-based loans.

From July to December this year, the rate will drop to 6.09 percent per annum, from 6.27 percent January 2004.

While the average cost of borrowings during the first half at 5.69 percent per annum was 0.02 percentage point higher than in the previous semester, a substantial 0.20 percentage point of the lending spread was waived.

Last April 29, the conversion of the multi-currency pool-based loans to Japanese yen pool-based loans was completed.

Effective this month up to yearend, the lending rate for Japanese yen pool-based loans will be at 1.93 percent per annum.

"This is 0.20 percent per annum lower than in the previous half-year due entirely to the waiver of the lending spread. The average cost of borrowings during the first half of 2004 has remained at 1.53 percent per annum," the Manila-based multilateral agency said in an official press statement.

For US dollar LIBOR-based loans billed with a rate of LIBOR + 0.60 percent per annum between January and June this year, the rebate is unchanged at 0.35 percent. For Japanese yen LIBOR based loans billed with a rate of LIBOR + 0.60 percent per annum covering the same period, the rebate also remains unchanged at 0.39 percent per annum.

These rebate rates reflect the spreads of ADB’s costs of borrowings dedicated to LIBOR-based loans in their respective currencies.

The last time the ADB lowered its lending rates on its US dollar loan and multi-currency loan facilities to 6.34 percent per annum (from 6.69 percent) and to 3.91 percent per annum (from 5.08 percent), respectively, was in 2002. It applied to loans made in the second half of 2002.