Interest rates are freefalling, making it cheaper for consumers to borrow. We take a look at some of the best bank loans for different loan types in Singapore.
There are many different types of loans available in Singapore, for both individuals and businesses. If you’re a business owner, you can read this article on the best SME business loans in Singapore. For individuals, we look at the best bank loans for these loan types in Singapore:
Keep in mind that with all the loans that you take on, you will have to stay within the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) of 60%. This means that your monthly repayment for loans cannot be more than 60% of your monthly income.
Personal loan
What a personal loan is for: Unlike housing, car or renovation loans which serve a specific purpose, a personal loan offers more room for flexibility.Very often, a personal loan can come in handy during unexpected situations like a medical emergency, a funeral, a big-ticket purchase or other emergency scenarios. You can also use a personal loan to clear your credit card debt.
Personal loans tend to have higher interest rates than other types of loans. However, these interest rates remain significantly lower than credit cards, which could go as high as 26.9%.
| Provider | Interest rate | Processing Fee | Loan Tenure | Loan amount |
| CIMB CashLite | 4.5% (EIR 8.41%) | $0 | 1 to 5 years | - Min. loan amount of S$1,000 Existing CIMB credit card holders can borrow up to 90% of available credit limit. |
| Citi Quick Cash Loan | 3.99% (EIR 7.50%) if you loan at least S$20,000 4.55% (EIR 8.5%) if you loan less than S$20,000 |
$0 | 1 to 5 years | - Min. loan amount of S$1,000 - Max. loan amount of 4X your monthly salary |
| DBS/POSB Personal Loan | 3.88% (EIR 7.90%) | 1% of loan amount | 1 to 5 years | - Min. loan amount of S$500 - Max. loan amount up to 4X of your monthly salary if you earn less than S$120,000 annually; up to 10X if you earn more than S$120,000 annually |
| HSBC Personal Loan | 3.7% (EIR 7%) | $0 | 1 to 7 years | - Min. loan amount of S$5,000 - Max. loan amount of up to 4X monthly salary for those earning S$30,000 - S$120,000 annually; or up to 8X for those earning S$120,000 or more annually |
| OCBC Personal Loan | 3.5% (EIR 7.27%) if you are new to OCBC loan 4.7% (EIR 9.46%) if you are an existing OCBC loan customer |
1% of loan amount | 1 to 5 years | - Min. loan amount of S$1,000 - Max. loan amount of up to 4X of your monthly salary if you earn less than S$120,000 annually; or up to 6X if you earn S$120,000 or more annually |
| Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan | 3.88% (EIR 8.04%) | $199 (offset as cashback) | 1 to 5 years | - Minimum loan amount of S$1,000 - Max. loan amount of up to 4X monthly salary, capped at S$250,000 |
| UOB Personal Loan | ^3.68% (EIR 7.53%) | $0 | 1 to 5 years | - Min. loan amount of S$1,000 - Max. loan amount of up to 95% of the available credit limit of your UOB Credit Card account. |
*Effective Interest Rate (EIR) based on a $10,000 personal loan with a 3 year tenure.
^Based on promotional rates from UOB, starting 1 August 2020.
With personal loans, the EIR changes based on the loan tenure and loan amount. The EIR is the interest rate you actually incur after all additional charges such as processing fees. You can also read this article for the best personal loans in Singapore with the lowest interest rates.
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Plus, enjoy up to 2.5% cashback on approved amount with a min. value of S$15,000 of 3, 4, 5 years tenure. Valid till 30 November 2024. T&Cs apply.
Car loan
What a car loan is for: To pay for the cost of your car, up to 70% of the total car price.
For many of us, owning a car is a luxury in Singapore that does not come cheap. Not only do we have to pay for the cost of the car, we also have to pay for the Certificate of Entitlement (COE), road tax and other maintenance costs. However, a car can also provide us with convenience, flexibility and comfort, especially if we have a family with young children or elderly parents.
If you are looking to buy a car but have difficulties to commit to it financially, you can consider taking a car loan. Here are some of the car loans that are available on the market.
| Provider | Interest rate | Minimum Loan amount |
| DBS/POSB | 1.99% p.a. fixed flat (EIR 3.77% p.a.) | $10,000 |
| OCBC Car Loan | New car: Fixed interest rate of 2.78% p.a. (EIR 5.19% p.a.) Used car: Fixed interest rate of 2.98% p.a. (EIR 5.54% p.a.) |
$15,000 |
| Standard Chartered Bank Auto Financing | New car: 2.48% p.a Used car: 2.78% p.a |
$10,000 |
| UOB Car Loan | New car: 2.68% p.a. (EIR 5.01%) Used cars that are 10 years and under: 2.78% p.a. (EIR 5.32%) |
$10,000 |
*Effective Interest Rate (EIR) is derived from a loan tenure of 7 years.
All the car loans listed above offer a loan tenure of up to 7 years. You can also loan up to 70% of the total car price unless deemed otherwise by the bank.
Like all other loans, you are required to pay a monthly repayment for your car loan. If paying off this monthly repayment could be an issue, perhaps it’s time to hold off this dream until you are financially ready for this commitment. In the interim, you could also opt to rent a car from car rental companies such as BlueSG, Smove, Car Club, Tribe Car and WhizzCar.
Home loan
What a home loan is for: To pay for the cost of your home, outside of the cash or CPF downpayment. Compared to other types of loans, housing loans tend to have the lowest interest rates, ranging from 1.60% to 2.60% p.a.
Banks offer different interest rates based on the type of home loan you choose. They usually come in two packages: fixed or floating rate. Fixed rate packages lock in the interest rate you pay for a specific number of years, usually 1 to 5 years, after which the interest rate would depend on what the bank references at that point of time.
The interest rate you pay for a floating rate package would depend entirely on the current interest rates.
In Singapore, for those that purchase a HDB flat, you also have the option of choosing a HDB loan instead of a bank loan. We have included this in the table below so you can compare for yourself which housing loan is suitable for you when it comes to HDB properties.
| Provider | Interest rate (p.a.) | Loan amount | Other benefits |
| DBS/POSB | 5-Year Fixed Rate Package - Year 1 to 5: 1.80% - Thereafter: FHR8 + 1.40% p.a. 3 Year Fixed Rate Package - Year 1 to 3: 1.80% - Thereafter: FHR8 + 1.38% p.a. 1 Year Lock-in - Year 1 to 3: FHR8 + 1.13% p.a. Thereafter: FHR8 + 1.13% p.a. No Lock-in - Year 1 to 3: FHR8 + 1.20% p.a. - Thereafter: FHR8 + 1.20% p.a. FHR8 refers to DBS/POSB bank’s prevailing 8 months SGD fixed deposit rate for amounts between S$1,000 - S$9,999. The FHR8 is currently 0.6% p.a. |
Min. loan amount of S$100,000 for 5-year fixed rate package or 3-year fixed rate package. Min. loan amount of S$500,000 for 1 year lock-in or no lock-in home loans. Max. loan amount up to 75% of purchase price of market value, whichever is lower |
Earn up to 3.8% p.a on your savings with the DBS Multiplier |
| Housing Development Board (HDB) | 2.60% This interest rate is pegged at 0.10% above the prevailing CPF Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate, currently at 2.5% p.a. |
Max. loan amount up to 90% of purchase price of market value, whichever is lower | Fixed interest rate throughout entire loan tenure Smaller downpayment required for HDB flat |
| OCBC Home Loan | OCBC 2Y fixed rate - Year 1 and 2: 1.60% - Year 3: 1.75% (Board + 0.75%) - Thereafter: 1.95% (Board + 0.95%) OCBC mortgage board rates - Year 1: 1.58% (Board + 0.58%) - Year 2: 1.58% (Board + 0.58%) - Year 3: 1.75% (Board + 0.75%) - Thereafter: 1.95% (Board + 0.95%) Current board rate at 1.00% p.a. |
Min. loan amount of S$200,000 Max. loan amount up to 75% of purchase price of market value, whichever is lower |
Get rewarded with up to S$300 UNIQGIFT e-Vouchers when you apply online. |
Not all banks display their current HDB home loan rates online, for which you will have to call the bank or book an appointment to find out more.
From the table, you can see that the current home loans from DBS/POSB and OCBC are hovering below 2%, lower than the 2.6% for a HDB loan. While a HDB loan has a higher interest rate compared to a bank loan, there are other perks of choosing a HDB loan. With a HDB loan, you do not have to worry about interest rates fluctuating, providing some peace of mind. You can read this article to help you figure out if you should opt for a HDB loan or a bank loan.
Renovation loan
What a renovation loan is for: Renovation loans cover for your renovation costs such as flooring, painting carpentry work, electrical and wiring work, basic bathroom fittings and more. However, it does not cover your furniture, fittings and other accessories.
Not everyone requires a renovation loan when a renovation is done for your home. However, not everyone has $30,000 or more on hand to pay for a home renovation. Couple this with cash flow difficulties and unexpected situations and we could find ourselves in need of cash when our renovation comes round.
Rather than living in an unfurnished home (or worst still, a home with renovations half done), a renovation loan can be an option to consider. Here are some of the renovation loans on the market.
| Provider | Interest rate | Tenure | Maximum Loan amount |
| CIMB Renovation-i Financing | As low as 4.20% p.a. | 1 to 5 years | Between $10,000 and $60,000 (for Joint Applications) |
| DBS/POSB Renovation Loan | 2.88% p.a. for existing DBS Home Loan customer 3.88% p.a. for non DBS Home Loan customer |
1 to 5 years | $30,000 or six times 6 monthly salary, whichever is lower |
| Maybank Renovation Loan | 2.88% p.a. for existing Maybank Home Loan customers Without Maybank Home Loan: - From 4.3% p.a for 1 to 3 years loan tenure - From 4.2% p.a for 4 and 5 years loan tenure |
1 to 5 years | $30,000 or six times 6 monthly salary, whichever is lower |
| OCBC Renovation Loan | Contact the bank for interest rates offered. OCBC Home Loan customers enjoy lower rates | 1 to 5 years | $30,000 or 6 times your monthly salary, whichever is lower |
Most renovation loans allow you to borrow up to S$30,000 or 6 times your monthly salary, whichever is lower. The loan tenure also ranges from 1 to 5 years. If you are looking to borrow a larger loan amount for your renovation, or if you require a longer loan tenure, you could consider a personal loan instead.
If you already have an existing home loan with a bank in Singapore, you can consider getting a renovation loan from the same bank. Banks such as DBS/POSB, OCBC and Maybank offer preferential rates for those that have an existing home loan with them.
However, not all banks offer renovation loans. Citibank and Standard Chartered are two such examples; they have got low interest rate personal loans that you could check out instead, and with larger quantums, they are sure to come in useful for complementary purchases like your home furnishings.
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