Banks Lift Prime Lending Rate

Shortly after the Fed’s announcement of an interest-rate hike, major banks began announcing that they were raising their prime lending rate from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. The prime rate is a benchmark for many types of consumer loans.

Wells Fargo was the first bank to announce the rate hike. Shortly thereafter, JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Bancorp said that their prime rates would also rise 0.25 percentage points to 3.5 percent, effective Thursday.