Hong Leong Bank publishes the exact effective date of every Base Rate and BLR change since 2 January 2015. That lets this page count the days between each of the 13 OPR changes since 2016 and the date Hong Leong's new rates applied, and price its conventional and Islamic indicative home-loan rates side by side.
Hong Leong Bank's Standardised Base Rate (SBR) is 2.75% a year, its Base Rate (BR) and Islamic Base Rate (IBR) are 3.63%, and its Base Lending Rate (BLR) and Islamic Financing Rate (IFR) are 6.64%, effective 14 July 2025. Hong Leong Islamic Bank uses the same SBR and the IBR and IFR figures. For a standard RM350,000 housing loan over 30 years with no lock-in period, Hong Leong publishes an indicative effective lending rate of 4.50% at Hong Leong Bank and 4.35% at Hong Leong Islamic Bank. 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.
Hong Leong's rates today, and which loans use each one
Hong Leong's reference-rate page lists one figure for each conventional rate and its Islamic counterpart. Its page also lists the 3-month KLIBOR and its 12-month fixed deposit rate, which some facilities taken before 1 August 2022 are priced against; those two are not covered here.
| Rate | Rate now (from 14 Jul 2025) | Which loans use it |
|---|---|---|
| Standardised Base Rate (SBR) | 2.75% | New retail floating-rate loans and financings, refinancing of existing retail loans, and renewals of revolving retail facilities from 1 August 2022, for individuals. Hong Leong says the SBR is linked solely to the OPR and that it adjusts the SBR by the same amount as any OPR change, up or down. |
| Base Rate (BR) / Islamic Base Rate (IBR) | 3.63% | Floating-rate loans and financings for individuals taken from 2 January 2015 to 31 July 2022. Hong Leong says they stay on the BR or IBR until fully paid; existing overdrafts were moved to the SBR from August 2022 with notification letters. |
| Base Lending Rate (BLR) / Islamic Financing Rate (IFR) | 6.64% | Loans and financings taken before 2 January 2015, which stay on the BLR or IFR until maturity; loans to non-individuals; and Hong Leong Bank's floating-rate car loans, which its FAQ says stay on the BLR because of the Hire Purchase Act 1967. Hong Leong Islamic Bank does not offer floating-rate car financing. |
| Indicative effective lending rate, Hong Leong Bank, standard RM350,000 housing loan over 30 years | 4.50% | Not a reference rate. It is Hong Leong Bank's published example of what a standard conventional home loan with no lock-in period costs; your own rate depends on your offer. |
| Indicative effective financing rate, Hong Leong Islamic Bank, standard RM350,000 home financing over 30 years | 4.35% | Not a reference rate. It is Hong Leong Islamic Bank's published example for the same standard financing, 0.15 points below the conventional figure. |
Your letter of offer shows which rate your loan follows, written as the reference rate plus or minus a spread. Hong Leong's own FAQ example prices the same loan two ways and arrives at the same effective rate: BR 3.13% + 0.47% = 3.60%, and SBR 2.25% + 1.35% = 3.60%. For the same loan amount, tenure and fees, it is that effective rate that sets the instalment, so a high reference rate does not make a loan dearer on its own. Hong Leong adds that a bank is not allowed to raise the spread above the SBR during the tenure unless your credit risk profile changes, for example if you miss payments. 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 Hong Leong's rates have moved since 2 January 2015
Hong Leong publishes the series below in its historical-trend document, published on 14 July 2025 and linked from its reference-rate page. The BR and BLR series start on 2 January 2015, when the Base Rate framework BNM introduced replaced the BLR as the reference rate for new retail loans, and the SBR series starts on 1 August 2022. The document's column heading reads "SBR (since 01/08/2020)", but its first SBR entry is 1 August 2022, the date BNM's revised framework took effect; we treat the heading as a typo and use the dated entries. We add BNM's OPR after the decision that set it, so each Hong Leong move can be read against the OPR of the day.
| Hong Leong change (effective) | OPR after BNM's decision | SBR | BR / IBR | BLR / IFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 2015 | 3.25% (10 Jul 2014) | Not yet used | 3.99% | 6.85% |
| 10 Jul 2015 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 3.84% | 6.85% |
| 25 Apr 2016 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 3.94% | 6.95% |
| 29 Jul 2016 | 3.00% (13 Jul 2016) | Not yet used | 3.69% | 6.70% |
| 4 Aug 2017 | 3.00% (no change) | Not yet used | 3.78% | 6.79% |
| 30 Jan 2018 | 3.25% (25 Jan 2018) | Not yet used | 4.03% | 7.04% |
| 10 Jan 2019 | 3.25% (no change) | Not yet used | 4.13% | 7.14% |
| 13 May 2019 | 3.00% (7 May 2019) | Not yet used | 3.93% | 6.94% |
| 15 May 2019 | 3.00% (no change) | Not yet used | 3.88% | 6.89% |
| 31 Jan 2020 | 2.75% (22 Jan 2020) | Not yet used | 3.63% | 6.64% |
| 6 Mar 2020 | 2.50% (3 Mar 2020) | Not yet used | 3.38% | 6.39% |
| 12 May 2020 | 2.00% (5 May 2020) | Not yet used | 2.88% | 5.89% |
| 10 Jul 2020 | 1.75% (7 Jul 2020) | Not yet used | 2.63% | 5.64% |
| 17 May 2022 | 2.00% (11 May 2022) | Not yet used | 2.88% | 5.89% |
| 12 Jul 2022 | 2.25% (6 Jul 2022) | Not yet used | 3.13% | 6.14% |
| 1 Aug 2022 (SBR starts) | 2.25% (no change) | 2.25% | 3.13% | 6.14% |
| 13 Sep 2022 | 2.50% (8 Sep 2022) | 2.50% | 3.38% | 6.39% |
| 8 Nov 2022 | 2.75% (3 Nov 2022) | 2.75% | 3.63% | 6.64% |
| 9 May 2023 | 3.00% (3 May 2023) | 3.00% | 3.88% | 6.89% |
| 14 Jul 2025 (current) | 2.75% (9 Jul 2025) | 2.75% | 3.63% | 6.64% |
Four patterns stand out in Hong Leong's own figures:
- Since 15 May 2019, the BR has sat exactly 0.88 percentage points above the OPR. That holds in all 12 rows from 15 May 2019, and it also held on 10 January 2019; the 13 May 2019 row in between shows 0.93 points because Hong Leong passed on BNM's May 2019 cut in two steps. Before 10 January 2019 the gap moved between 0.59 and 0.78 points.
- Hong Leong moved its BR four times apart from any OPR change, all before the SBR. It cut the BR by 0.15 points on 10 July 2015, leaving the BLR unchanged, then raised it by 0.10 points on 25 April 2016, 0.09 points on 4 August 2017 and 0.10 points on 10 January 2019, each time with the BLR moving by the same amount; the 0.05-point step of 15 May 2019 is the second half of the May 2019 OPR cut, not a separate move. Hong Leong's FAQ explains that its BR is built from its cost of funds and the statutory reserve cost, which can change without the OPR; it also says that from 1 August 2022 its BR, IBR, BLR and IFR move exactly in tandem with the SBR.
- The BLR has sat 3.01 percentage points above the BR in 19 of the 20 rows. The only exception is 2 January 2015 (2.86 points): the BR cut of 10 July 2015 left the BLR where it was, and every change since has moved both by the same amount, so an older BLR-pegged loan has moved in step with a BR-pegged one at every change since then.
- Since the SBR began, every Hong Leong change has matched BNM's OPR move. In all five rows from 1 August 2022, the SBR equals the OPR, and the BR and the BLR moved by the same 0.25 points as the OPR at each of the four changes since.
What a standard RM350,000 home loan has cost since March 2020, conventional and Islamic
The same Hong Leong document carries a shorter table, "Changes of Reference Rates since 2020", which adds the indicative rate on its standard RM350,000, 30-year loan with no lock-in period at each of the ten changes from 6 March 2020: one figure for Hong Leong Bank and one for Hong Leong Islamic Bank. The earlier rows carry no indicative rate, so this table starts where Hong Leong's does. The instalment columns are ours, using the standard amortisation formula on a new 30-year loan at each rate.
| Hong Leong change (effective) | OPR after BNM's decision | Hong Leong Bank indicative rate | Instalment, RM350,000 over 30 years | Hong Leong Islamic Bank indicative rate | Instalment, RM350,000 over 30 years | Islamic rate costs less by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Mar 2020 | 2.50% (3 Mar 2020) | 4.25% | RM1,721.79 | 4.10% | RM1,691.19 | RM30.60 |
| 12 May 2020 | 2.00% (5 May 2020) | 3.75% | RM1,620.90 | 3.60% | RM1,591.26 | RM29.64 |
| 10 Jul 2020 | 1.75% (7 Jul 2020) | 3.50% | RM1,571.66 | 3.35% | RM1,542.50 | RM29.16 |
| 17 May 2022 | 2.00% (11 May 2022) | 3.75% | RM1,620.90 | 3.60% | RM1,591.26 | RM29.64 |
| 12 Jul 2022 | 2.25% (6 Jul 2022) | 4.00% | RM1,670.95 | 3.85% | RM1,640.83 | RM30.12 |
| 1 Aug 2022 (SBR starts) | 2.25% (no change) | 4.00% | RM1,670.95 | 3.85% | RM1,640.83 | RM30.12 |
| 13 Sep 2022 | 2.50% (8 Sep 2022) | 4.25% | RM1,721.79 | 4.10% | RM1,691.19 | RM30.60 |
| 8 Nov 2022 | 2.75% (3 Nov 2022) | 4.50% | RM1,773.40 | 4.35% | RM1,742.34 | RM31.06 |
| 9 May 2023 | 3.00% (3 May 2023) | 4.75% | RM1,825.77 | 4.60% | RM1,794.26 | RM31.51 |
| 14 Jul 2025 (current) | 2.75% (9 Jul 2025) | 4.50% | RM1,773.40 | 4.35% | RM1,742.34 | RM31.06 |
Two more patterns sit in this table. Hong Leong Bank's indicative rate has been exactly BR + 0.87 percentage points, which is OPR + 1.75 points, in all ten rows; its August 2025 FAQ illustrates the current rate the same way, as SBR 2.75% + 1.75% = 4.50%. Hong Leong Islamic Bank's indicative rate has been exactly 0.15 points below the conventional one in all ten rows, which on this loan is worth between RM29.16 and RM31.51 a month depending on the rate of the day, and RM31.06 a month today.
At today's 4.50%, the standard RM350,000, 30-year loan costs RM1,773.40 a month at Hong Leong Bank. That is RM52.37 less than at the 4.75% shown for May 2023 and RM201.74 more than at the 3.50% low of July 2020, which held until the May 2022 change. On that loan a 0.25-point rise in the indicative rate adds RM52.37 a month and a 0.25-point cut takes off RM51.61.
How the instalment is worked out, using the current row: the monthly rate is 4.50% ÷ 12 = 0.375%, and the instalment is P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n) with P = RM350,000, r = 0.00375 and n = 360 months, which gives RM1,773.40. The same formula reproduces Hong Leong's own FAQ illustration to within a ringgit: on a RM350,000 balance with 20 years left, it gives RM2,261.78 at 4.75% (Hong Leong prints RM2,262) and RM2,214.27 at 4.50% (Hong Leong prints RM2,215). Each instalment in the table is for a new 30-year loan at that date's rate; an existing loan's revised instalment depends on its remaining balance and tenure.
How soon Hong Leong's new rates followed each BNM decision
Because Hong Leong dates every change to the day, all 13 OPR changes from July 2016 to July 2025 can be matched to the date its new rates took effect, from one Hong Leong document. The gap ran from 3 to 16 days. July 2016 was the slowest at 16 days, March and July 2020 the quickest at 3 days, and every change since the SBR began has taken 5 or 6 days. Hong Leong's FAQ notes that BNM requires banks to adjust the SBR within seven working days of an OPR change. The May 2019 cut arrived in two steps: 0.20 points on 13 May and the remaining 0.05 points on 15 May.
| BNM decision | New OPR | Hong Leong's new rates effective | Days later |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 2016 | 3.00% (−0.25) | 29 Jul 2016 | 16 days |
| 25 Jan 2018 | 3.25% (+0.25) | 30 Jan 2018 | 5 days |
| 7 May 2019 | 3.00% (−0.25) | 13 May 2019 (−0.20), then 15 May 2019 (−0.05) | 6 and 8 days |
| 22 Jan 2020 | 2.75% (−0.25) | 31 Jan 2020 | 9 days |
| 3 Mar 2020 | 2.50% (−0.25) | 6 Mar 2020 | 3 days |
| 5 May 2020 | 2.00% (−0.50) | 12 May 2020 | 7 days |
| 7 Jul 2020 | 1.75% (−0.25) | 10 Jul 2020 | 3 days |
| 11 May 2022 | 2.00% (+0.25) | 17 May 2022 | 6 days |
| 6 Jul 2022 | 2.25% (+0.25) | 12 Jul 2022 | 6 days |
| 8 Sep 2022 | 2.50% (+0.25) | 13 Sep 2022 | 5 days |
| 3 Nov 2022 | 2.75% (+0.25) | 8 Nov 2022 | 5 days |
| 3 May 2023 | 3.00% (+0.25) | 9 May 2023 | 6 days |
| 9 Jul 2025 | 2.75% (−0.25) | 14 Jul 2025 | 5 days |
The date a reference rate changes is not the date your instalment changes. Hong Leong's FAQ on the July 2025 revision shows the two were almost two months apart.
What happens to a Hong Leong instalment when the OPR moves
Hong Leong's FAQ on the August 2025 instalment revision, for mortgage loans and property financing-i accounts, sets out the sequence:
- 9 July 2025: BNM cut the OPR from 3.00% to 2.75%.
- 14 July 2025: Hong Leong cut the SBR from 3.00% to 2.75%, the BR and IBR from 3.88% to 3.63%, and the BLR and IFR from 6.89% to 6.64%. Its FAQ says the effective rate of an account pegged to those reference rates was revised on the same day.
- Calculation basis, 11 August 2025: the revised instalment uses the standard amortisation formula on the outstanding balance, the remaining tenure and the effective rate as at 11 August 2025, so that the account is paid off within its remaining tenure. In August 2025 Hong Leong sent each affected customer a notification letter, by email for e-statement subscribers and by post for everyone else.
- 4 September 2025: the new instalment took effect.
Hong Leong does not revise an instalment when the change is less than RM10.00. Its FAQ lists nine other reasons an account is left out of a revision, among them an interest-servicing account, fixed-rate pricing, less than 12 months to maturity, arrears of six months or more, a rescheduling or AKPK arrangement, and an instalment set at the customer's own requested amount through a Service Request Form, when the revised figure would be lower. An unrevised instalment is not free: Hong Leong says the total cost of borrowing changes, the tenure can be extended, and an extended tenure can leave years without insurance or takaful cover. Maybank, by comparison, also leaves an instalment alone under RM10, and CIMB revises it however small the change. To pay more than the revised amount, Hong Leong asks for a Service Request Form at a branch or through its contact centre, and it can keep that higher amount at future revisions as long as the revised figure stays below it. If a higher instalment is hard to pay, Hong Leong's FAQ points to its rescheduling and restructuring plans and its collections line, and its SBR FAQ says a loan kept at the original instalment may be classified as rescheduled and restructured, with the extra cost, longer tenure or extra interest explained to you.
Hong Leong also explains why an instalment can rise after a rate cut. Its illustration is a financing of RM531,238 over 420 months, approved on 22 May 2022 when the BR was 2.88%, at BR + 0.17% = 3.05% and an initial instalment of RM2,060. The account was in progressive release from 12 January 2023 to 28 May 2024, paying interest only while the property was built, so it was left out of the revision after the May 2023 OPR rise; full instalments of RM2,060 began on 4 June 2024. After the July 2025 cut the rate became BR 3.63% + 0.17% = 3.80%, and the instalment payable from 4 September 2025, on a balance of RM527,585.31 over the remaining 405 months, became RM2,312. The standard formula gives RM2,059.32 and RM2,313.67 for those two figures, within two ringgit of Hong Leong's. Test what a higher instalment does to your commitments with the DSR guide before you agree to a change.
How Hong Leong compares with other banks
For loans taken from 1 August 2022, the SBR is 2.75% at every bank, so the spread in your offer is what differs between banks. For an older BR-pegged loan, Hong Leong's BR of 3.63% sits between the lowest verified Base Rate in our table, Maybank's 2.75%, and the highest, CIMB's 3.75%. Hong Leong's BLR and IFR of 6.64% are the highest verified BLR or BFR in the table, 0.04 points above CIMB's 6.60%. A reference rate on its own does not make a loan cheaper or dearer: the effective rate is the reference rate plus your spread, and Hong Leong's own example shows the same 3.60% whichever rate it is quoted on. See every bank on the bank rates table, or compare home-loan offers. Our Maybank Base Rate, SBR and BLR page has Maybank's instalment series from May 2020, and our CIMB Base Rate, SBR and BLR page prices CIMB's home-loan tiers.
What is Hong Leong Bank's base rate today?
Hong Leong Bank's Standardised Base Rate (SBR) is 2.75% a year, its Base Rate (BR) and Islamic Base Rate (IBR) are 3.63%, and its Base Lending Rate (BLR) and Islamic Financing Rate (IFR) are 6.64%, effective 14 July 2025, with the same figures for Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank. Its published indicative effective lending rate for a standard RM350,000, 30-year housing loan with no lock-in period is 4.50% at Hong Leong Bank and 4.35% at Hong Leong Islamic Bank.
How soon after an OPR change does Hong Leong change its rates?
Between 3 and 16 days for the 13 OPR changes from July 2016 to July 2025, by Hong Leong's own published effective dates: 16 days in July 2016, 3 days in March and July 2020, and 5 to 6 days at every change since the SBR began on 1 August 2022, most recently on 14 July 2025, five days after BNM's 9 July 2025 cut. Hong Leong's FAQ notes that BNM requires banks to adjust the SBR within seven working days of an OPR change. BNM kept the OPR at 2.75% on 3 September 2026; we do not forecast the next decision.
Why can a Hong Leong instalment go up after a rate cut?
Hong Leong's August 2025 FAQ gives two conditions that met together: the loan was approved between 2019 and 2023, when rates were lower than now, and the account was in progressive release, paying interest only while the property was under construction, so it was left out of the instalment revisions when the OPR rose in 2022 and 2023. The first full revision after disbursement then sets the instalment at today's rate, which can be higher than the one in the letter of offer. In Hong Leong's example the instalment rose from RM2,060 to RM2,312 despite the July 2025 cut.
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 Hong Leong Bank and BNM on the dates shown; confirm the rate and instalment that apply to your account with Hong Leong before you act.
Sources
- Hong Leong Bank, Reference Rate page — SBR 2.75%, BR/IBR 3.63% and BLR/IFR 6.64% effective 14 July 2025, with the notes on the SBR and on facilities taken before 1 August 2022; reviewed 28 October 2026.
- Hong Leong Bank, Historical Trends of Reference Rates (PDF, published 14 July 2025) — the dated BR/IBR and BLR/IFR series from 2 January 2015, the SBR series from 1 August 2022, and the "Changes of Reference Rates since 2020" table with the indicative lending and financing rates; reviewed 28 October 2026.
- Hong Leong Bank, Mortgage Loan Info Centre — Standard Housing Loan's Indicative Lending Rate, RM350,000 over 30 years with no lock-in period: 4.50% conventional and 4.35% Islamic; reviewed 28 October 2026.
- Hong Leong Bank, FAQs: August 2025 Instalment Revision for Mortgage Loan/Property Financing-i Accounts (PDF; questions 1 to 11: the 14 July 2025 rates, the 11 August 2025 calculation basis, the 4 September 2025 effective date, the RM10 threshold and the other non-revision reasons, and the RM531,238 and RM350,000 illustrations) — reviewed 28 October 2026.
- Hong Leong Bank, FAQs: Standardised Base Rate (PDF; questions 1 to 18: the seven-working-day rule, the 3.60% example, the spread rule, the under-RM10 note, the rescheduled-and-restructured classification, and the BLR for floating-rate car loans under the Hire Purchase Act 1967) — reviewed 28 October 2026.
- Hong Leong Bank, Consumer Guide: Revised Reference Rate Framework (PDF, published 1 August 2022) — which facilities the SBR applies to and what happens to BR/IBR and BLR/IFR loans from 1 August 2022; reviewed 28 October 2026.
- BNM, OPR decisions — 2014 to 2026, latest decision 3 September 2026; reviewed 28 October 2026.
- BNM, Revised Reference Rate Framework (SBR from 1 August 2022, linked solely to the OPR) — published 11 August 2021; reviewed 28 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 28 October 2026.