A non-major bank, Auswide Bank, is the first lender to lift its interest rates following the Reserve Bank’s decision on Tuesday to hike the cash rate by 50 basis points.
The Queensland-based bank announced on Wednesday afternoon that it would be increasing interest rates on existing variable rate home, business and personal loans by 0.50% per annum, from September 20.
The move is unusual given it is usually one of the big four banks that is the first to lift interest rates after the RBA board meets. At the time this story was published, none of the major banks had announced it was lifting interest rates.
Auswide Bank's new home loan variable rates will also increase by up to 0.40% depending on the product. Home and business loan fixed rates have also been increased by up to 0.30% depending on the term.
Read more: Reserve Bank makes big rate call
Auswide Bank said there would be no change to its low rate visa credit card but interest rates on term deposits and savings accounts are under review.
The bank’s managing director, Martin Barrett (pictured above), said the RBA cash rate decision was the fifth consecutive increase as the RBA sought to curb inflation.
“Our customer service teams are again here to work with our customers in response to this latest increase,” he said.
Read more: Industry reacts to official cash rate hike
Barrett said customers with new loan repayments would be advised by letter in advance of their next repayment due date.
“A customer’s applicable interest rate will also appear on their next loan statement.”
Auswide Bank recently released its results for the financial year ended June 30, 2022, which showed a 7.3% rise in the value of its loan book in FY22.
The bank posted a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $26.1m over the financial year, up 8.2% on 2021.
