Origin, the division of Rand Merchant Bank which offers you the opportunity of consolidating all your debt, also reduced its interest rate in the latest round of bank rate cuts.
The bank's single credit facility rate into which you can incorporate your credit card debt, overdraft, motor vehicle loan, home loan and any personal loans, was lowered by one percentage point to 18,25 percent. This rate is effective for new and existing customers from April 30.
If Origin regards you as a low risk, you can get an additional discount of up to 1,5 percentage points lower than 18,25 percent. At the maximum discount, 16,75 percent compares favourably with the current fixed lending rates offered by banks.
To qualify you must have assets of R400 000 and have a combined household income of more than R276 000.
You would have to cede these assets to Origin as security against the amount you wish to borrow.
Unlike retail banks, which mainly assess what you can afford to borrow based on the value of your residential property, Origin takes other assets such as listed share portfolios, unit trusts, cash and your motor vehicles into account when working out what you can can afford to borrow.
The surrender values of life assurance policies can also qualify as assets.
Also, at retail banks you are charged a pre-determined interest rate regardless of your overall risk profile. For example, a home owner who has paid off half his home loan doesn't enjoy a lower rate despite the fact that he would pose a lower risk to the bank.