CIMB's Base Rate sits a full percentage point above the SBR, but what you pay is the reference rate plus your margin. CIMB's own example prices the same loan to the same instalment whichever of its three rates it is quoted on.
CIMB's Standardised Base Rate (SBR) is 2.75% a year, its Base Rate (BR) is 3.75%, and its Base Lending Rate (BLR) and Base Financing Rate (BFR) are 6.60%, effective 14 July 2025. The same figures apply at CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB also publishes its current residential property financing rates as the SBR plus a margin that depends on the loan amount, from SBR + 2.45% (5.20%) below RM200,000 to SBR + 2.05% (4.80%) above RM500,000. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has kept the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75% at every decision since its 9 July 2025 cut, most recently on 3 September 2026. Every other bank's rate is on our Malaysia bank Base Rates table.
CIMB's rates today, and which loans use each one
CIMB publishes one figure for each conventional rate and its Islamic counterpart. Its BR/BLR/BFR FAQ says the BR is the same for conventional and Islamic retail loans and financing, and its rates page shows one SBR for both.
| Rate | Rate now (from 14 Jul 2025) | Which retail variable-rate loans use it |
|---|---|---|
| Standardised Base Rate (SBR) | 2.75% | New retail floating-rate loans and financings, refinancing of existing ones, and renewals of revolving facilities from 1 August 2022. CIMB names property financing, ASB financing and overdrafts as the products priced on it, and says it adjusts the SBR by the same amount as any OPR change. |
| Base Rate (BR), conventional and Islamic | 3.75% | Loans and financings priced on the BR from 2 January 2015 until the SBR took over for new loans on 1 August 2022. CIMB describes the BR as its benchmark cost of funds plus the Statutory Reserve Requirement cost, and says it now moves in tandem with the SBR. |
| Base Lending Rate (BLR) / Base Financing Rate (BFR) | 6.60% | Loans and financings originally pegged to the BLR or BFR before 2 January 2015, plus floating-rate hire purchase (car financing), which CIMB still quotes on the BLR or BFR because of the Hire Purchase Act 1967. |
| Published residential property financing rate, RM200,000 to RM350,000 | SBR + 2.35% = 5.10% | Not a reference rate. It is CIMB's current published pricing for a new loan of that size, before any promotional rate: 5.20% below RM200,000, 4.90% above RM350,000 to RM500,000 and 4.80% above RM500,000. Your own rate depends on your offer. |
Your letter of offer shows which rate your loan follows, written as the reference rate plus or minus a margin. CIMB's own FAQ example makes the point: a RM350,000, 30-year loan quoted as BLR − 1.50%, BR + 1.35% or SBR + 2.35% is 5.10% in each case and costs RM1,900.32 a month in each case. A high reference rate does not make a loan dearer on its own: for the same loan amount, tenure and fees, it is the effective rate after the margin that sets the instalment. If your offer states a fixed rate, it does not move with these base rates, and a flat-rate hire-purchase quote is different again: the car loan calculator shows the effective rate behind a flat rate.
How CIMB's rates have moved since January 2015
CIMB publishes the table below on its rates page, starting in January 2015, when BNM's Base Rate replaced the BLR as the reference rate for new retail loans. For dates before 1 August 2022, CIMB's SBR column shows the OPR, which it notes is the SBR's benchmark; we show those rows as "Not yet used" and give the OPR in its own column, with the BNM decision that set it. The last column is how far CIMB's BR sat above the OPR at each change.
| CIMB change (effective) | OPR after BNM's decision | SBR | BR | BLR / BFR | BR minus OPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2015 | 3.25% (10 Jul 2014) | Not yet used | 4.00% | 6.85% | 0.75 points |
| Jun 2016 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 4.10% | 6.95% | 0.85 points |
| Jul 2016 | 3.00% (13 Jul 2016) | Not yet used | 3.90% | 6.75% | 0.90 points |
| Jan 2018 | 3.25% (25 Jan 2018) | Not yet used | 3.90% | 6.75% | 0.65 points |
| Feb 2018 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 4.15% | 7.00% | 0.90 points |
| Dec 2018 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 4.25% | 7.10% | 1.00 points |
| May 2019 | 3.00% (7 May 2019) | Not yet used | 4.00% | 6.85% | 1.00 points |
| Jan 2020 | 2.75% (22 Jan 2020) | Not yet used | 3.75% | 6.60% | 1.00 points |
| Mar 2020 | 2.50% (3 Mar 2020) | Not yet used | 3.50% | 6.35% | 1.00 points |
| May 2020 | 2.00% (5 May 2020) | Not yet used | 3.00% | 5.85% | 1.00 points |
| Jul 2020 | 1.75% (7 Jul 2020) | Not yet used | 2.75% | 5.60% | 1.00 points |
| May 2022 | 2.00% (11 May 2022) | Not yet used | 3.00% | 5.85% | 1.00 points |
| Jul 2022 | 2.25% (6 Jul 2022) | Not yet used | 3.25% | 6.10% | 1.00 points |
| Aug 2022 (SBR starts) | 2.25% (no change) | 2.25% | 3.25% | 6.10% | 1.00 points |
| Sep 2022 | 2.50% (8 Sep 2022) | 2.50% | 3.50% | 6.35% | 1.00 points |
| Nov 2022 | 2.75% (3 Nov 2022) | 2.75% | 3.75% | 6.60% | 1.00 points |
| May 2023 | 3.00% (3 May 2023) | 3.00% | 4.00% | 6.85% | 1.00 points |
| Jul 2025 (current) | 2.75% (9 Jul 2025) | 2.75% | 3.75% | 6.60% | 1.00 points |
Three patterns stand out in CIMB's own figures:
- The BLR has stayed 2.85 percentage points above the BR. The gap is the same in all 18 rows, so an older BLR-pegged loan moved by the same amount as a BR-pegged one at every change.
- Since December 2018, the BR has sat exactly 1.00 percentage point above the OPR. That holds in the last 13 rows. Before then the gap moved between 0.65 and 0.90 points: CIMB raised its BR by 0.10 points in June 2016 and again in December 2018 with no OPR change, and its table records the January 2018 OPR rise in one row before its own 0.25-point BR rise in February 2018.
- Since the SBR began, every CIMB change has matched BNM's OPR move. In all five rows from August 2022, the SBR equals the OPR, and the BR and BLR moved by the same 0.25 points as the OPR at each of the four changes since.
CIMB does not publish, as Maybank does, an indicative home-loan rate for each of these dates, so this table cannot show what a standard loan cost at each change. Our Maybank Base Rate, SBR and BLR page has that series for Maybank from May 2020, where the BR has equalled the OPR at every change.
What CIMB's current home-loan pricing costs each month
CIMB publishes its residential property financing rate as the SBR plus a margin that falls as the loan gets bigger. The table takes one loan amount inside each tier, works out the monthly instalment on a new 30-year loan at the effective rate CIMB publishes for that tier, and shows what the same instalment would be if the SBR were 0.25 percentage points higher or lower, with the margin unchanged. Promotional rates, which CIMB says to ask a branch about, are not included.
| Loan amount (CIMB tier) | Published rate | Effective rate now | Instalment, 30 years | If the SBR were 0.25 points higher | If the SBR were 0.25 points lower |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM150,000 (below RM200,000) | SBR + 2.45% | 5.20% | RM823.67 | RM846.98 | RM800.65 |
| RM350,000 (RM200,000 to RM350,000) | SBR + 2.35% | 5.10% | RM1,900.32 | RM1,954.45 | RM1,846.92 |
| RM500,000 (above RM350,000 to RM500,000) | SBR + 2.15% | 4.90% | RM2,653.63 | RM2,730.13 | RM2,578.18 |
| RM700,000 (above RM500,000) | SBR + 2.05% | 4.80% | RM3,672.66 | RM3,779.17 | RM3,567.62 |
How the instalment is worked out, using the RM350,000 row: the monthly rate is 5.10% ÷ 12 = 0.425%, and the instalment is P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n) with P = RM350,000, r = 0.00425 and n = 360 months, which gives RM1,900.32, the same figure CIMB prints in its own FAQ example to the sen. On that loan a 0.25-point rise in the SBR adds RM54.13 a month and a 0.25-point cut takes off RM53.40. Each instalment in the table is for a new 30-year loan; an existing loan's revised instalment depends on its remaining balance and tenure.
What happens to a CIMB instalment when the OPR moves
CIMB's two FAQs on the July 2025 revision set out the sequence for its retail loans and financings:
- 9 July 2025: BNM cut the OPR from 3.00% to 2.75%. CIMB issued a media release the same day.
- 14 July 2025: CIMB cut the SBR from 3.00% to 2.75%, the BR from 4.00% to 3.75%, and the BLR and BFR from 6.85% to 6.60%; its notice also cut fixed-deposit board rates by 0.25%. CIMB says it adjusts the SBR by the same amount as the OPR change, and that the BR and BLR/BFR move exactly in tandem with the SBR.
- Notice by post: CIMB mails a letter to each customer whose instalment changes, at least 7 calendar days before the new instalment is due.
- September 2025: the revised instalments took effect for retail loans and financings. For auto financing, the new instalment applied in August or September 2025, depending on the due date.
CIMB revises an instalment regardless of how small the difference is; Maybank, by comparison, leaves an instalment alone when the change is under RM10. For auto-debit payments from a CIMB current or savings account, CIMB says the payment is updated as per the option selected unless the bank notifies you otherwise; a standing instruction with CIMB or another bank has to be updated by you with that bank. After a cut, you can ask CIMB to keep your existing instalment, through its Consumer Contact Centre or a branch; CIMB says paying the old amount reduces the principal faster, which can shorten the tenure and lower the total interest. Under a relief programme such as the Flood Relief Assistance Plan, the instalment does not change until the programme ends, after which CIMB sends a notice of the new amount. If a higher instalment is hard to pay, CIMB asks customers to contact it as soon as possible to discuss other payment options. Test what a higher instalment does to your commitments with the DSR guide before you agree to a change.
How CIMB compares with other banks
For loans taken from 1 August 2022, the SBR is 2.75% at every bank, so the margin in your offer is what differs between banks. For an older BR-pegged loan, CIMB's BR of 3.75% is the highest verified Base Rate in our table, where the lowest is Maybank's 2.75%. CIMB's BLR and BFR of 6.60% are the second highest verified BLR or BFR after Hong Leong Bank's 6.64%; our Hong Leong Base Rate, SBR and BLR page dates every Hong Leong change since January 2015 to the day. A high reference rate does not make a loan dearer on its own: the effective rate is the reference rate plus your margin, and CIMB's own example shows the same 5.10% whichever rate it is quoted on. See every bank on the bank rates table, or compare home-loan offers. RHB's BR of 3.50% sits between the two, and RHB publishes the indicative home-loan rate CIMB does not; our RHB Base Rate, SBR and BLR page prices RHB's standard RM350,000 loan at each change since 2015.
To see what a rate change means in ringgit, read our guide to what a 1% home-loan rate change does and when refinancing pays, with a worked RM400,000 example.
Wondering how the loan tenure changes what the same rate costs? Read our guide to a 30-year or 35-year home loan, with a worked RM400,000 example.
What is CIMB's base rate today?
CIMB's Standardised Base Rate (SBR) is 2.75% a year, its Base Rate (BR) is 3.75%, and its Base Lending Rate (BLR) and Base Financing Rate (BFR) are 6.60%, effective 14 July 2025, for both CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic, as published on CIMB's own rates page.
Will my CIMB instalment change when the OPR moves?
CIMB says it adjusts the SBR by the same amount as any OPR change, moves the BR and BLR/BFR in tandem with it, and revises affected instalments regardless of how small the difference is, with at least 7 calendar days' notice. After the July 2025 cut, revised retail instalments took effect in September 2025. BNM kept the OPR at 2.75% on 3 September 2026; we do not forecast the next decision.
Why is a CIMB car loan quoted on the BLR and not the SBR?
CIMB says banks use the BLR or BFR for floating-rate hire purchase due to the requirements under the Hire Purchase Act 1967. Its BLR and BFR move exactly in tandem with its SBR, so CIMB says there is no difference in the effect on your payments whichever rate the facility is quoted on.
Calculate with your own numbers
Open the home loan calculator with your own balance, rate and tenure, or the car loan calculator for a hire-purchase instalment.
Thinking of paying the loan off sooner? Try the mortgage early-settlement calculator.
Information only, not an offer, advice or a forecast of rate changes. Rates are as published by CIMB and BNM on the dates shown; confirm the rate and instalment that apply to your account with CIMB before you act.
Sources
- CIMB, Standardised Base Rate / Base Rate / Base Lending Rates / Base Financing Rate page, including its historical series since January 2015 — rates effective 14 July 2025; reviewed 26 October 2026.
- CIMB, Standardised Base Rate (SBR) FAQ (PDF dated 14 July 2025, questions 1 to 11, including the RM350,000 example) — reviewed 26 October 2026.
- CIMB, BR/BLR/BFR revision FAQ (PDF, July 2025 revision, questions 1 to 14) — reviewed 26 October 2026.
- CIMB, Important notice on SBR, BR, BLR/BFR and FD board rates effective 14 July 2025 (PDF, English and Bahasa Malaysia) — reviewed 26 October 2026.
- CIMB, Property Loan interest rates page — residential property financing current published rates, SBR as at 14 July 2025; reviewed 26 October 2026.
- BNM, OPR decisions — 2014 to 2026, latest decision 3 September 2026; reviewed 26 October 2026.
- BNM, Revised Reference Rate Framework (SBR from 1 August 2022, linked solely to the OPR) — published 11 August 2021; reviewed 26 October 2026.
- BNM, New Reference Rate Framework (Base Rate from 2 January 2015; existing loans originally pegged to the BLR stay on it unless refinanced) — published 19 March 2014; reviewed 26 October 2026.