Westpac cuts fixed rates by up to 70bps

Reporter 06:40 AM, 12 Jul 2019 2 minute read

The major bank has reduced fixed rates across its owner-occupied and investment home loan offerings.

Westpac has slashed interest rates on its Fixed Option Home Loan and Fixed Rate Investment Property Loan products, effective from 10 July.

The bank has reduced rates by up to 70bps for borrowers with both principal and interest and interest-only loan terms.

Changes to Westpac’s Fixed Option Home Loan for owner-occupiers are as follows:

two-year principal and interest fixed rates have been reduced by 61bps from 3.79 per cent to 3.18 per cent (4.71 per cent comparison rate)
three-year principal and interest fixed rates have been reduced by 51bps from 3.79 per cent to 3.28 per cent (4.62 per cent comparison rate)
two-year interest-only fixed rates have been reduced by 70bps from 4.49 per cent to 3.79 per cent (5.28 per cent comparison rate)
three-year interest-only fixed rates have been reduced by 70bps from 4.59 per cent to 3.89 per cent (5.19 per cent comparison rate)

Changes to Westpac’s Fixed Rate Investment Property Loan for investors are as follows:

two-year principal and interest fixed rates have been reduced by 30bps from 3.89 per cent to 3.59 per cent (5.21 per cent comparison rate)
three-year principal and interest fixed rates have been reduced by 30bps from 3.99 per cent to 3.69 per cent (5.21 per cent comparison rate)
two-year interest-only fixed rates have been reduced by 26bps from 4.15 per cent to 3.89 per cent (5.55 per cent comparison rate)
three-year interest-only fixed rates have been reduced by 30bps from 4.29 per cent to 3.99 per cent (5.24 per cent comparison rate)

Westpac also announced cuts to its variable rates in response to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) cash rate reductions.

The major bank fell short of passing the full 25bps reductions to its owner-occupied customers following both the June and July cash rate adjustments.

However, Westpac reduced variable rates for investors paying interest-only by a cumulative 65bps.

The RBA’s monetary policy adjustments elicited an immediate response from the mortgage market, with ANZ among a host of lenders to reprice its home loans.

[Related: ANZ slashes fixed rates]