ANZ, Westpac, CBA cut home loan rates
ANZ and Westpac have followed the Commonwealth Bank's decision to lower the interest rate on their standard variable home loans by 10 basis points leaving NAB the only of the big four to refuse the Reserve Bank's cut.
ANZ's standard variable home loan rate will be lowered to 5.81 per cent per annum for new and existing customers and will be effective as of Friday 17th April.
Similarly Westpac’s new standard variable home loan rate will reduce to 5.81per cent per annum effective Monday 20 April 2009.
The reductions come after the Reserve Bank cut the interest rate by 25 basis points to a 49-year low of 3 per cent.
"Tight competition for customer deposits and volatile wholesale funding markets are keeping our funding costs high,'' ANZ head of Australia operations Brian Hartzer said.
"But ANZ understands the current economic environment is placing a strain on many households.''
“We recognise that many of our small business customers are managing difficult economic circumstances ... we believe now is the right time to pass on in full the latest interest rate reduction to these customers," said Westpac Group Executive Peter Hanlon.
Yesterday, CBA said it would cut its standard variable mortgage rate by 10 basis points to 5.64 per cent, effective April 17.
National Australia Bank said it won't cut rates because of the high cost of wholesale funding.