All four big banks pass on latest interest rate hike

The central bank decided to lift the nation’s official cash rate by 25 basis points, taking the baseline rate from 3.1 per cent to 3.35 per cent, on Tuesday.

Commonwealth was the last of the big four to pass on the RBA’s latest interest rate hike.

Home loan variable interest rates will be hit in full by the latest 0.25 per cent rise from February 17.

“We want any customer who would like to talk about their individual situation to message us in the CommBank app to explore different support options with one of our specialists – starting that conversation early can help alleviate concerns and allow us to work together to find solutions,” group executive Angus Sullivan said.

But similarly to the other three big banks, there’s good news for savers as the bank increases its GoalSaver interest rate by 0.75 per cent to 4 per cent per annum from February 10.

The Youthsaver bonus interest rate will rise by 0.5 per cent to 4 per cent per annum.

“The savings rates increases we are announcing today build on higher rates we have announced across a number of savings products during the past few months,” Sullivan said.

Meanwhile, Westpac also passed on the interest rate on Thursday for their home loan and deposit customers from February 21.

The home loan variable rates will increase by the full 0.25 per cent for new and existing customers.

“We know at this time of year some customers are reassessing their household budgets and looking for ways to manage their money,” chief executive Chris de Bruin said.

“While the majority of our customers continue to be well-placed to navigate the rising rate environment, we know some might be feeling uneasy amid growing cost of living pressures.

“If customers are concerned, we encourage them to give us a call.”

The Westpac Life deposit account total variable rate will also rise by 0.25 per cent to 4 per cent.

Meanwhile, savers will benefit as the bank’s eSaver total variable rate will also rise by 0.25 per cent to 4 per cent for new customers for the first five months.

“We’ve announced interest rate increases to our Westpac Life and eSaver accounts to support customers as they think about their financial goals in the year ahead,” de Bruin said.

ANZ was the first of the big four to pass on the cash rate rise closely followed by NAB on Tuesday.

Variable interest rates on ANZ’s home loans will increase by the full 0.25 per cent from February 17.

The 0.25 per cent change will increase monthly repayments by $66 on an ANZ home loan of $450,000, the bank said.

In good news for savers, the bank will also pass on a 0.25 per cent increase to the ANZ Plus Save accounts for an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum on balances less than $250,000 from February 14.

ANZ Group Executive Australia Retail Maile Carnegie acknowledged another interest rate hike will put pressure on households already hit hard by a cost of living crisis.

“We urge anyone facing difficulties to speak with our expert teams to discuss the options available to support them and their specific circumstances as early as possible,” Carnegie said.

NAB said its standard variable NAB home loan interest rate would rise by 0.25 per cent a year from February 17, along with deposit rates for savers.

NAB group executive for personal banking Rachel Slade encouraged anyone worried about their situation to speak to the bank.

The latest interest rate hike will be crushing for mortgage holders even pushing some onto a home loan cliff.

Since April 2022 – when interest rates were just 0.10 per cent – repayments on a $500,000 loan have increased by $969 a month or $11,628 a year.

But the rate pain doesn’t seem to be over with RBA governor Philip Lowe forecasting future hikes as inflation continues to surge.

“The Board expects that further increases in interest rates will be needed over the months ahead to ensure that inflation returns to target and that this period of high inflation is only temporary,” he said.

”The Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to target and will do what is necessary to achieve that.”

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