Cheung Wan Mortgage: In February, there were a total of 541 cases of mortgage transfers in Hong Kong, a decrease of 1.1% compared to the previous month. HSBC reclaimed the top spot in market share.

According to data from the Central Mortgage Research Department and the Land Registry, in February 2026, a total of 541 registration cases were recorded for mortgage transfers in Hong Kong, a slight decrease of 1.1% compared to the previous month. The numbers reflect that the overall volume of mortgage transfers has only slightly rebounded from the low levels at the end of last year, and is still mainly at a low level. Wong Mei Fung, Managing Director of Central Mortgage, stated that the mortgage transfer market remains subdued mainly due to banks raising interest rates for new and transferred mortgages in 2023, resulting in owners who took out mortgages earlier still paying lower interest rates compared to the current market rates. Additionally, despite the stabilization and slight increase in property prices in Hong Kong since 2025, property values are still discounted by around 20% compared to historical highs, which has not significantly increased the incentive for owners to transfer mortgages. In terms of market share for mortgage transfers, HSBC recorded 127 transfers in February, with a significant increase of 27% compared to the previous month, raising its market share by 5.2 percentage points to 23.5%, ranking it first and breaking BOC HONG KONG's seven-month record. In the first two months of 2026, HSBC also ranked first with 227 registrations (20.9% market share). Wong Mei Fung believes that HSBC's increase in market share for mortgage transfers is due to its offering of low-interest fixed-rate mortgages. Especially since the completion of the rate cutting cycle at the end of October last year, with market expectations that the HIBOR rate of 3.25% will be maintained for a period of time, making the 2.73% fixed-rate mortgages more attractive, leading to a continuous rise in the usage rate of fixed-rate mortgages in recent months. As HSBC was the only bank providing fixed-rate mortgage schemes earlier in the market, this enhanced its competitiveness in the mortgage business and successfully attracted customers for mortgage transfers. As for BOC HONG KONG (02388), it recorded 94 transfers, a decrease of 23% compared to the previous month, with a market share decline of 4.9 percentage points to 17.4%, ranking it second. Standard Chartered Bank ranked third with 67 registrations (market share of 12.4%); HANG SENG BANK maintained its fourth position with a market share increase of 2.5 percentage points to 9.8% (53 registrations); ICBC Asia moved up to fifth place with 39 registrations (market share of 7.2%). The sixth to tenth positions were occupied by BANK OF E ASIA (00023), DBS Bank, OCBC Wing Hang Bank, Citibank, and Shanghai Commercial Bank, respectively.