US banks hike prime rate to 4% after Fed meet

Major US banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo Bank and Citibank have raised their prime rate to 4%, effective Thursday.

The base lending rate was hiked by 50 basis points, the banks said in different statements on Wednesday.

The decision comes after the US Federal Reserve raised its overnight interest rate by half a percentage point, the biggest jump in 22 years.