ING breaks fixed rate

Homeowners are not the only ones paying big fees to get out of deals that fixed high interest rates.

ING Property Trust said yesterday that it had got out of interest rate swap agreements which fixed its interest rate at 7.26 per cent for 5.7 years because interest rates had fallen.

It cost ING $12 million to cancel the interest rate swaps. The trust said it expected to recoup this cost in the next three to five years.

The trust also said it had reduced its revolving credit facility with ANZ National Bank to $500 million from $600 million.

It said it had sold a number of properties and no longer needed such a large facility.