New home loan guarantees 10-yr interest

Times are uncertain and no matter how much one prepares for his or his family’s future, one will never know if he has prepared enough.

Knowing that these are uncertain times and interest rates fluctuate according to the economy’s dictates, Metrobank, the country’s largest bank, launched this month a new mortgage financing product that provides borrowers with protection from unpredictable interest rate surges, for a longer period of up to 10 years.

MetroHome Rate Protect Plus, an extension of the bank’s MetroHome Rate Protect product, guarantees interest rates for two terms of five years each. For the duration of the rate protection period, the loan enjoys an annual review of interest and is given rates that are guaranteed not to go beyond the predetermined minimum and maximum rates of 10 to 15 percent for the first term (1st to 5th year) and 11 to 16 percent for the second term (6th to 10th year).

The first year interest rate is set either at the prevailing rate, minimum or floor rate, or the welcome rate, whichever is available. As an introductory offer, MetroHome Rate Protect Plus currently has a welcome rate of 9.5 percent per annum.

After the first year, the loan will be re-priced based on the prevailing one-year fixed rate. The interest rate on re-pricing shall not exceed the guaranteed maximum rate for the applicable rate protection term. This is a better deal for the borrower, compared to home loans with a fixed interest rate for 10 years straight, a rate which may be much higher than the prevailing rate in the future. Such a scheme does not allow the borrower to enjoy lower interest rates at re-pricing. With the MetroHome Rate Protect Plus, the borrower not only enjoys lower interest rate on re-pricing; he is also protected from future interest rate surges by the guaranteed maximum interest rate.

MetroHome Rate Protect Plus is available at all Metrobank branches nationwide. For information on fees, charges, and other inquiries, call the bank’s head office-Consumer Lending Group at 890-8000 locals 8505, 8506, 8533, 8534, 8929, 9881 and 9942. Interested parties may also contact the following Consumer Lending Business Centers nearby: Cebu-Fuente Osmeña (254-1263), Calamba-Crossing (834-1598), Urdaneta Pangasinan (568-7414), Davao Center (222-8771), Cagayan de Oro-Divisoria (857-7790 to 91), Bacolod-North Drive/MB Araneta (435-0525), and Iloilo-Gen. Luna (336-3956).