Credit interest

Last year, I took home ownership credit with Bank Papan Sejahtera. The bank, incorporated with the developer, gave me an attractive low interest rate of 16 percent for the first year with the condition that in the second year it would go up according to the yearly interest rate.

I was shocked to receive an announcement of a 5 percent increase in the interest rate for 1996, which brings my monthly installment to US$125 a month, which is, of course, a heavy burden.

I was even more shocked to learn that my friends, who took the same type of loan with the same bank are still being charged the same interest they have paid for several years, which is 18 percent. I would like a clear explanation from the bank to ensure me that the "low" interest rate which I paid last year is real and not something that I have to pay back for the next nine years until my credit term has finished.

M. TJAHYADI

Jakarta