Lenders join rate cut chorus

CBA, Westpac, St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne (BOM), BankSA, Bank of Queensland (BOQ), UBank, Greater Bank, ING Direct and Newcastle Permanent have all announced that they will pass on the full 0.25 per cent reduction to its variable rate home loans, while ANZ has reduced its standard variable rate (SVR) by 19 basis points.

Effective 20 May, CBA’s cut will see its SVR start at 5.35 per cent, while Westpac’s headline owner-occupier variable rate will be reduced to 5.43 per cent (with a 5.57 per cent comparison rate), and its headline investor variable rate will drop to 5.70 per cent (with a 5.84 per cent comparison rate), effective 23 May.

St George’s headline owner-occupier variable rate will start at 5.44 per cent (with a 5.61 per cent comparison rate), while its headline investor variable rate will decrease to 5.69 per cent (with a 5.85 per cent comparison rate), effective 23 May.

BOM’s standard variable rate will be reduced to 5.35 per cent for owner-occupiers (with a 5.52 per cent comparison rate) and to 5.60 per cent for investors (with a comparison rate of 5.76 per cent), effective 23 May.

BankSA’s SVR will drop to 5.42 per cent for owner-occupiers (with a 5.59 per cent comparison rate) and to 5.67 per cent for investors (with a comparison rate of 5.83 per cent), effective 23 May.

Westpac, St George, BOM and BankSA also passed on the full 25 basis points cut to its variable rate small business loans.

Effective 26 May, Bank of Queensland’s headline variable rate for its Clear Path loan will start at 4.42 per cent (with a 4.55 per cent comparison rate), while UBank’s headline SVR for new owner-occupier principal and interest loans will decrease to 3.74 per cent (including a 0.43 per cent value offer discount), effective 16 May.

Greater Bank’s SVR will be reduced to 4.75 per cent (with a 4.75 per cent comparison rate). The bank also introduced a special variable owner-occupier loan for new customers borrowing more than $150,000 and with a maximum LVR of 80 per cent.

ING Direct passed on the full 0.25 per cent reduction to its variable rate residential and commercial property loans, effective 20 May, while Newcastle Permanent passed on the 25 basis points cut to its variable rate home and business loans, effective 19 May.

Meanwhile, ANZ will reduce the SVR for its home loans by 19 basis points, effective 13 May, meaning the major bank’s owner-occupier SVR loan will start at 5.37 per cent.

ANZ also introduced a new two-year fixed rate home loan for owner-occupiers at 3.75 per cent.

[Related: NAB slashes rates by 25 basis points]