Arabic version: البنوك ترفع أسعار الفائدة على الرهون العقارية بعد زيادة سعر النقد من بنك الاحتياطي الأسترالي
According to ABC News, Australia’s major lenders are lifting rates on variable mortgages after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate to 4.85 per cent, an 18-year high. The move was the RBA’s fifth cash-rate increase this year and followed its decision on Tuesday to tackle persistent inflation.
Macquarie Bank was the first lender to respond, saying it would increase interest rates across its variable-rate home loan products by 0.25 per cent. Customers have until November 19 before the higher rate takes effect. The following day, Westpac, NAB, ANZ and CBA each announced a 0.25 per cent increase for variable home loans, with their new rates applying from November 13.
ANZ said a 0.25 per cent annual increase in variable home-loan rates would add about $79 to monthly repayments on a $500,000 owner-occupier loan with principal-and-interest repayments. Westpac’s chief executive for consumer banking, Carolyn McCann, said most of the bank’s customers were ahead in their mortgage repayments. The banks said customers facing financial strain should contact their lender as soon as possible.
The rate changes also extend across a range of business and personal loans and savings accounts. Savers with suitable accounts may earn more interest once banks lift rates in the middle of November, but the highest rates can depend on meeting account conditions. Comparison site Canstar said customers who do not meet those conditions can revert to a base rate of about 0.10 per cent, including when they miss minimum monthly deposits or fail withdrawal requirements.
