Best Bank Home Loans in Singapore: Comparing Mortgage Packages and Interest Rates 

You could be looking to buy a new home and need a new mortgage. Or perhaps you’re exploring refinancing your existing home loan for greater savings. Whichever it is, when it comes to financing property in Singapore, a home loan is almost always in the equation (i.e., unless you’re super rich and can afford to pay for it in full).  

A home loan is a huge financial commitment, worth several hundred thousand dollars and lasting two to three decades. Because of this, finding a suitable lender and home loan package is very important. 

If you’re just looking for the lowest interest rates, go ahead and compare the most competitive packages on PropertyGuru Finance! 

We’ve partnered with all major banks in Singapore, and with the comparison tool, you can easily filter mortgage packages by property type, building status, loan quantum and loan tenure.  

However, if you want to find out a little bit more about the different lenders, this guide will come in handy. Here’s an introduction to the banks and financial institutions offering home loans in Singapore.  

Comparing Home Loans by Major Banks in Singapore 

There are many well-established banks and financial services groups in Singapore offering competitive fixed and floating rate packages for home loans. Here is a list of the major financial banks and financial services companies that you can seek a home loan from.  

Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list of all banks and financial institutions in Singapore. The packages mentioned in this article are correct at the time of writing (30 Sep 2021) and are meant as a guide only. The interest rates are subject to change, and you should compare the latest home loan rates and packages on PropertyGuru Finance before applying for a new home loan.  

1. DBS Home Loan Review  

DBS was established in 1968 by the Singapore Government with the purpose of taking over the industrial financing activities from the Economic Development Board. It has grown to become the largest bank in Southeast Asia and was named as the Best Bank in the World in 2020 by financial publication Global Finance.  

Currently, DBS offers quite a comprehensive selection of home loans for all types of property – be it HDB or private, completed or under construction.  

For buildings under construction (BUC), there are two packages – the DBS BUC Package and DBS BUC 3M SORA Package. The former is pegged to the FHR6, which is the Fixed Deposits Home Rate 6, defined as “the prevailing 6 months Singapore Dollar fixed deposit interest rate of DBS Bank for amounts within S$1,000 to S$9,999 or such other sum as (DBS) may specify”. The latter is also a floating rate package, pegged to the 3M SORA, which is defined by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as “the volume-weighted average rate of borrowing transactions in the unsecured overnight interbank SGD cash market in Singapore between 8am and 6.15pm”.  

For completed properties, there are fixed and FHR6 floating packages. Packages go up to five years, which may be preferred for those who want to ‘chope’ their current rate for longer (i.e., if you expect interest rates to go up). Currently, on its 5-year fixed rate package, DBS provides a waiver of commitment fees if you are selling your home. 

Check out DBS home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

2. OCBC Home Loan Review 

OCBC is the oldest established bank in Singapore after its merger with two other local banks in 1932. It is second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the most highly rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody’s.  

As expected, OCBC also offers a good selection of home loans for residential property buyers.  

In fact, the first SORA based home loan was launched by OCBC last year in July 2020 for homeowners of completed private properties with a minimum loan of $1 million. Currently, there’s no minimum home loan requirement for its SORA-pegged home loans.  

There are two options for under-construction properties: you can choose a floating package pegged to the 1M SORA or MBR (the bank’s Mortgage Board Rate). 

For completed properties, you can also select a 1MSORA package if you like. If not, there are MBR floating rate packages and fixed rate packages to consider. There are 2-, 3- and 4-year packages depending on your preference.  

Do note that there’s a minimum loan amount of $200,000 for HDB properties and $300,000 for private properties.  

Check out OCBC home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

3. UOB Home Loan Review 

One of the three local banking giants of Singapore, UOB is the most famous family business in the Asian banking, having been established in 1935. It is the third largest financial services group in Southeast Asia with a strong credit rating of Aa1 from Moody’s.  

Currently, there aren’t any options for BUC home loans. However, there is a 3M SORA Package, and various floating (MLCR, board rate) and fixed rate packages. Certain packages also have flexible perks such as allowing you to repay your loan or sell your property without penalty, and one-time free conversion of home loan packages.  

Check out UOB home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

4. Maybank Home Loan Review 

 Maybank is among the top 5 banks in Southeast Asia with total assets of US$165 billion. It is the largest company by market capitalisation on the Malaysian Bourse (Bursa Malaysia) and is ranked first among listed Malaysian companies and among the top 500 companies in the Forbes Global 2000 leading companies in the world.   

Like the above-mentioned banks, Maybank has fixed rate, floating rate, and SORA home loan packages. What’s interesting is that they currently still offer a SIBOR package, although probably not for long.  

SIBOR is in the midst of being phased out in Singapore, which is why many of the banks in this list no longer have those packages.  

Check out Maybank home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now.

5. HSBC Home Loan Review  

Established in 1877, HSBC is one the earliest banks to set up in Singapore. Today, HSBC is a prominent player in Singapore’s financial services sector serving the banking needs of multinational corporations, home-grown businesses, private banking clients, institutional and retail customers, including those seeking home loans. 

There is only one BUC loan, and it is a floating rate pegged to the 1M SORA.  

For completed properties, there are two floating rate packages: the 2-year 1M SORA one, and a ‘No Lock In’ package, which is also pegged to the 1M SORA but has no lock-in period. The latter has a much higher rate though.  

There are also fixed rate packages, although these options seem to be for home buyers with a higher loan amount ($500,000 and up).  

 Check out HSBC home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

6. Citibank Home Loan Review  

Though Citibank Singapore was only incorporated in 2005, Citi itself has been operating in Singapore since 1902. Citi Singapore is built on three key business lines, first being wealth management products and services, second is insurance, deposits and treasury products and thirdly, secured products covering housing loans and share financing. It is also the largest foreign banking employer in Singapore.  

Citibank has quite a few home loan offerings, and you may encounter ‘CitiGold’ packages during your search. These are for their premium banking clients, so do check your eligibility with our home loan advisors  if you’re interested.  

Citibank has a good selection of floating rate loans, pegged to the 1M and 3M SIBOR and SORA. There are also 2-year and 3-year fixed rate packages if you prefer.  

The BUC loans, however, are limited to private properties and for loan amounts above $750,000. This means if you have a BTO, you are probably not eligible.  

 Check out Citibank home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

7. CIMB Home Loan Review 

CIMB group is a leading ASEAN universal bank and one of the region’s foremost corporate advisors. It is also a world leader in Islamic finance. In 2019, it received awards for the Best Retail Bank in Malaysia and Best Sukuk Bank and Best Equity house in Malaysia.  

Currently, CIMB only offers 2- and 3-year fixed rate home loans for completed properties.  

Check out CIMB home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now.

8. Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Home Loan Review  

The Singapore Standard Chartered Bank has a long history having opened its first branch in Singapore in 1859. It is also one of the first international banks to receive a Qualifiying Full Bank (QFB) licence and is one of the highest-rated banks globally with a rating of A1 from Moody’s.  

Those with under-construction properties can choose between a 3MSORA package, or one that’s pegged to their 36FDR (the 36 Month Fixed Deposit Rate).   

For completed properties, you can also choose from 36FDR and SORA packages, but you also have the option of fixed rate packages for up to three years.  

Check out Standard Chartered Bank home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now.

9. Bank of China (BOC) Home Loan Review 

BOC is one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks in China. The Bank of China Singapore Branch (BOCSG) holds a Qualifying Full Bank license and provides clients with a full suite of banking services, including corporate banking, personal banking, financial market and investment banking. 

For BOC, there is a minimum loan amount of $500,000, which may exclude those buying more affordable HDB flats. There are also no packages for under-construction homes. For completed properties, the only floating rate package is pegged to the 3MSORA, but there are 2- and 3-year options for fixed rates.    

Check out BOC home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now.

10. Hong Leong Finance Home Loan Review

Having established in 1961, Hong Leong Finance has grown to become Singapore’s largest finance company with a distribution network of around 28 branches. Its core business involves taking deposits and savings from the public and providing a suite of financial products and services that include corporate and consumer loans, government assistance programmes for SMEs, corporate finance and advisory services. 

There are two types of floating rate packages, depending on whether you are buying a private or HDB home. Based on that, it’ll either be pegged to the PBR or the HDB Home Rate (HHR).  

There are also 2- and 3-year fixed rate packages. However, there are no SORA packages, which seem popular these days.  

Check out Hong Leong Finance home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now.

11. RHB Singapore Home Loan Review 

RHB Singapore is the fourth largest, fully-integrated financial services group in Singapore. Its core businesses are streamlined into Personal Financial Services and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, Branch Banking Centres, Treasury, Structured Finance as well as Investment Banking, Brokerage and Asset Management businesses offered through its various subsidiaries such as RHB Bank Berhad, RHB Securities Singapore and RHB Asset Management.     

RHB’s home loans are for completed properties only. There are fixed rate packages starting from as short as one year (up to three years), and floating rate packages pegged to the 3M SORA. 

Check out RHB home loans on PropertyGuru Finance now. 

Which Bank is Best for Home Loans? 

There is no ‘best’ bank for all home loans, but there could be a most suitable one for you and your needs. For example, you’ll notice that the selection of home loan packages differs widely between banks. Some – like DBS, OCBC, Citibank and Maybank – have very comprehensive offerings, like BUC packages, fixed rate packages, SORA and other floating rate packages.  

Meanwhile, some other may have ‘niche’ areas, focusing on completed properties or higher-quantum loans.  

The actual interest rates fluctuate very often, so the best way to check which ones are the most competitive at the moment will be to compare them using a real-time mortgage tool such as PropertyGuru Finance. If after comparing, you want to proceed to apply or simply need more guidance, our home loan advisors can assist (for free).  

Fixed, Floating, SIBOR, SORA… Which Home Loan Package Is the Best?   

If, while scanning through our list, you realise you are not sure about what differentiates the various package types, this quick run-through may be helpful.  

There are two main types of home loans: Fixed rate home loans and floating (or flexible) rate home loans. 

Fixed Rate Home Loans

Banks typically offer fixed rate packages between two and five years. Thereafter, it will be pegged to a floating rate if you do not reprice or refinance your home loan. For example, a 2-Year fixed rate package will set your interest rates for the next two years regardless of changes in the market interest rate. However, from Year 3 onwards, the interest rate will become a variable rate and a grace period (normally around 30 days) will be given if the benchmark rate is revised. If the rate is too high, homeowners will usually reprice or refinance the home loan.  

Floating Rate Home Loan

In this instance, there will be an underlying index plus an additional spread determined by the Bank. There are different benchmarks that a floating rate can be pegged to and you can read more about fixed vs floating rates here. Most home loan packages are starting to peg against the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA), in addition to the banks’ mortgage board rates.   

SORA is published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). As other common benchmarks such as SIBOR and SOR are being phased out, most Banks in Singapore have pegged their home loans to it. Mortgage board rates or the reference rate are determined by individual banks based on prevailing market conditions. 

Related article: SIBOR vs SOR vs SORA: What Do These Rates Mean for Your Home Loans? 

We hope this guide has been helpful in helping you compare some of the lenders in Singapore for home loans. You can learn more about the exact interest rates and other details about the various packages on PropertyGuru Finance.  

Disclaimer: Information provided on this website is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice.

More FAQs About Home Loans in Singapore 

Which Bank is Best for Mortgage Loan?

There is no ‘best home loan’, and we can’t stress this enough! The most suitable bank and mortgage package will depend on your personal circumstances and preferences. If you want to compare interest rates, you may do so easily and for free on PropertyGuru Finance. 

Which Bank Gives 90% of Home Loan?

In Singapore, all banks and financial institutions can only offer up to 75% Loan-to-Value limit. The only lender who can offer up to 90% is HDB, but that eligibility conditions apply.  

Should I Pick A Fixed or Floating Rate Home Loan?

This depends on your preference. Fixed rates stay constant for a fixed period of time, whereas floating rates are pegged to a benchmark rate and moves in accordance with it. 

Should I Take An HDB Loan or Bank Loan? 

This is up to you. Generally, the biggest benefit of bank loans is that they’re cheaper (interest rates are much lower). HDB loans, on the other hand, have a higher interest rate but allow you to put down a smaller downpayment.