ISCOVER
While several lenders have moved quickly to pass on the August rate cut, some lenders are waiting more than two weeks to reduce interest rates on home loans.
Lenders have begun cutting interest rates on variable-rate mortgage products after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowered the cash rate to 3.60 per cent earlier this week.
The 25-basis-point cut brought the cash rate down to its lowest level since May 2023 and is expected to offer financial relief for borrowers.
For owner-occupiers with a $750,000 mortgage in February, they will save $340 on minimum monthly mortgage repayments if their bank passes on all three rate cuts made this year and will save $111 from the August rate cut alone, according to Canstar.
Following the RBA’s announcement on Tuesday, all four of the majors committed to passing on the 25-bp cut to variable-rate customers.
Both Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will drop variable rates by 0.25 per cent on 22 August.
NAB will follow suit on 25 August before Westpac makes the change on 26 August.
Macquarie Bank, which remains one of the fastest-growing mortgage lenders in the country, was one of the fastest to lower rates, cutting them by 0.25 per cent on 15 August.
Ben Perham, head of personal banking at Macquarie Bank, said: “When the RBA last cut the cash rate in May, we proved that the savings could be passed on to homeowners in just three days, instead of the industry average of 12 days.
“We were the fastest of the major banks and homeowners loved it, so we’re doing it again.”
Non-bank lenders Wave Money and ORDE Financial (ORDE) also moved quickly to pass on the reduction, trimming rates by 0.25 per cent for all borrowers on 15 August.
In May, after the RBA’s previous rate cut, Loan Market CEO David McQueen said more borrowers will shop around for better outcomes.
“History shows us that many lenders don’t always pass on the full cut, and even those that do may not offer their most competitive rate to existing customers,” McQueen said.
“Borrowers are fed up with paying the lender loyalty tax. They know there is plenty of competition out there and aren’t afraid to shop around for a lower rate.”
Who else has cut rates?
More than 30 lenders have announced that they plan to lower variable rates by 0.25 per cent, including but not limited to:
- AMP on 25 August
- Bankwest on 22 August
- Bendigo Bank on 27 August
- Beyond Bank on 26 August
- Bluestone on 1 September
- ING on 26 August
- Liberty Financial on 27 August
- MyState Bank on 28 August
- Pepper Money on 28 August
- Resi on 14 August for new lending (including pipeline). For existing customers from 22 August
- Resimac on 28 August
- Suncorp on 22 August
[Related: RBA slashes cash rate to lowest level in over 2 years]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION