ANZ makes another rate hike

ANZ has made yet another rate change, hiking their fixed rates by as much as 40 basis points. The long-term rates saw the biggest rises, with the four-year fixed moving from 2.99% to 3.39% and the five-year fixed going from 3.19% to 3.59%.

Those long-term fixed rates are now the highest among the Big Four and have risen almost an entire percentage point in just two months. For borrowers, that represents a $245 monthly rise in repayments compared to October.

The rate rises at ANZ are the latest in a wave of hikes that have come in since it became clear that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was abandoning its schedule of raising the cash rate in 2024.

Westpac has moved four times on fixed rates, as has NAB, while CBA and ANZ have moved three times. Variable rates are generally dropping, though not to the levels that were widespread in the middle of the year before lockdowns and term funding changes altered the price of funds for banks.

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The ultra-low fixed rate party of 2021 is quickly running out of steam,” said Sally Tindall of RateCity.

“Like its big bank competitors, ANZ has decided to hike fixed rates several times in the last two months to offset rising funding costs.

“There are likely to be a lot of frustrated ANZ customers waiting in the queue who will now be paying a significantly higher rate than the one they initially applied for, unless they paid a rate lock fee.

“There are 70 fixed rates under 2 per cent, but the list is shrinking by the day.

“People who want to fix but haven’t, shouldn’t give up hope. There are still some good deals out there, however, they’ll probably need to look beyond the big four banks.”