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In the wake of yesterday's RBA cut, banks have wasted no time in slashing mortgage rates.
Following the surprise announcement from the RBA that it would drop the official cash rate to 2.75%, NAB announced it would cut its standard variable rate by the full 25bps, dropping it to 6.13%. The bank said the bank had now maintained the lowest SVR among the majors for 46 months.
Commonwealth Bank also chose to pass along the 25bp cut, bringing its new SVR to 6.15%, effective from Monday, 13 May. CBA group executive of retail banking services said the decision reflected the bank's assessment of its overall funding position, rather than just the RBA move.
"The Commonwealth Bank believes that this is a balanced decision taking into account both domestic and offshore factors," Comyn said.
Westpac became the third major to announce a cut, also slashing rates by 25bps to briing its headline SVR to 6.26%. While the rate is higher than rivals NAB and CBA, the bank argued that the majority of its customers would receive a minimum discount of 70bps, bring the effective rate to 5.56%.
Westpac subsidiary St. George followed the move, dropping its rate to 6.24%, while the bank's regional brand Bank of Melbourne cut its rate to 6.15%. St. George and Bank of Melbourne also said the lenders would beat any rate advertised by the majors up to 30 June.
Suncorp also followed suit, reducing rates on its home and small business loans by 25bps. The rate cut brings the standard variable rate on Suncorp home loans to 6.24%.
