Fixed mortgage rate cuts continue

ING has dropped fixed mortgage rates across its owner-occupied principal and interest (P&I) products, effective from 24 April.

The lender’s rate changes are as follows:

• two-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 16bps, from 3.85 per cent to 3.69 per cent (4.74 per cent comparison rate)
• three-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 19bps, from 3.93 per cent to 3.74 per cent (4.65 per cent comparison rate)
• five-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 10bps, from 4.19 per cent to 4.09 per cent (4.62 per cent comparison rate)

Additionally, for Orange Advantage customers:

• two-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 16bps, from 3.75 per cent to 3.59 per cent (4.72 per cent comparison rate)
• three-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 19bps, from 3.83 per cent to 3.64 per cent (4.63 per cent comparison rate)
• five-year owner-occupied P&I rates have been cut by 10bps, from 4.09 per cent to 3.99 per cent (4.58 per cent comparison rate)

The bank’s fixed mortgage rate changes follows its cuts of up to 40bps across its variable rate owner-occupied and investment Mortgage Simplifier products.

ING is the latest lender to drop its fixed mortgage rates, with NAB, Virgin Money, Heritage Bank, Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank and Bendigo Bank also announcing reductions of up to 40bps over the past few weeks.

Macquarie Bank, ME, HomeStart Finance, Teachers Mutual Bank and Adelaide Bank have also reduced their fixed rates by up to 92bps over the past few months. 

According to Steve Mickenbecker, finance analyst at comparison website Canstar, the changes have come off the back of easing funding cost pressures.

“With the significant fall in wholesale funding costs since the start of 2019, lenders have had the opportunity to invest the fattening margin in acquiring new business,” he said.

ING was among several lenders that hiked its variable mortgage rates earlier this year, in response to such cost pressures.

The out-of-cycle rates changes have come despite monetary policy inertia from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

However, some analysts, including AMP chief economist Shane Oliver and NAB chief economist, markets, Ivan Colhoun, expect the RBA to drop the cash rate over the coming months, in response to weak credit and housing market conditions and subdued wage growth.

[Related: Major bank drops home loan rates]

Charbel Kadib is the news editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2017, Charbel completed internships with public relations agency Fifty Acres, and the Department of Communications and the Arts.

You can email Charbel on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.