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St.George Bank, Aussie and Heritage Bank are the latest to join in on the rate-cut bandwagon, reducing their standard variable home loan rates by 0.20% each.
General manager St.George retail banking, Andy Fell, says the rate cut will help support the Australian economy and keep it strong.
“When making decisions about interest rates, we need to balance the needs of our 1.75 million deposit customers with the needs of our 310,000 home loan customers.
St.George also has an offer in place until December 21, where it will beat any home loan rate advertised by the four major banks on fixed or variable rates. The offer is available for new home loan customers, with a $1,000 rebate available to help customers cover the cost of purchasing their new home.
Heritage Bank CEO John Minz says it’s important to remember that Heritage also had to consider the interests of investors when making its rate cut decision, which is partly why it hasn’t passed on the full 0.25%.
“Cutting home loan interest rates has a flow-on effect that also reduces the interest payments that investors receive. We have many customers, such as self-funded retirees, who rely on the interest income they receive from their investments to fund their living costs. It’s important that we keep in mind the needs of all customers when we make these decisions.”
St George, Aussie and Heritage join NAB, CBA, Westpac, Bank of Queensland, Yellow Brick Road and others in the move to lower interest rates.
