 Big Four all cut rates finally
St George and Westpac are the latest banks to cut standard variable home loan rates, the last of the big four to do so this week. St George will cut variable home loan rates by 21 basis points, while Westpac has cut it's rate for variable home loans by 20 basis points.
Westpac, which is currently looking to buy St George, now has a variable rate of 8.35% while St George will drop to 8.36%. The reductions that are for new and existing customers will not take effect until the end of the month.
Westpac is the last of Australia's big four banks to fully pass on the central bank's 1 percentage point rate cut earlier this month.
Last week all the major banks passed on just 80 per cent of the Reserve Bank's largest rate reduction since 1992. All spoke to higher borrowing costs as the the reason for not passing on the full 100 basis points. But in the past week, inter-bank lending rates have fallen from record highs, as world leaders agreed on rescue packages for banks in an effort to rescue the gloabl economy.
Today's reduction by Westpac means monthly repayments by customers on a 30-year, $250,000 mortgage will fall by about $35.
Predictions continue as to further cuts from the RBA next month, with most forecasters saying cuts of between 25 and 50 basis points are likely.
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