Bank of Queensland-backed ME Bank was a lonely home loan mover this week, dropping rates on many of its variable mortgage products by as much as 5 basis points.
Its move comes days before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board's August meeting, where it will discuss whether or not to move the cash rate, which sits at a 12-year high of 4.35% right now.
The cash rate, which tends to determine the interest rates charged by lenders, is the RBA's only weapon against inflation.
It's often described as a blunt tool as it doesn't impact all segments of the economy evenly.
Many home loan borrowers are battling against the highest interest rates seen in more than a decade, with InfoChoice recently finding one in four has less than $5,000 in savings, and depositors are likely rejoicing at the rates offered to them.
Fortunately for borrowers, the cash rate is expected to remain on hold next week, but the RBA has surprised the market in the past.
With all that considered, let's dive into the home loan rate movements going down in recent days.
ME Bank cuts variable home loan interest rates
ME Bank put forward several interest rate cuts this week, covering both its basic home loan offering and its packaged products.
It made one change to its Basic Home Loan product for owner-occupiers borrowing more than $150,000 and making principal and interest repayments:
|
Product |
LVR |
Change |
New rate (p.a.) |
Comparison rate* (p.a.) |
|
Basic Home Loan |
<80% |
-4bp |
6.13% |
6.15% |
Meanwhile, its packaged offering for homeowners borrowing more than $400,000 and making principal and interest repayments saw these cuts:
|
Product |
LVR |
Change |
New rate (p.a.) |
Comparison rate* (p.a.) |
|
Member Package Flexible Home Loan |
<60% |
-5bp |
6.14% |
6.53% |
|
Member Package Flexible Home Loan |
60-80% |
-5bp |
6.19% |
6.58% |
Photo by Jo Quinn on Unsplash
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