More lenders make moves on home loan rates
Lenders are following the rate increase lead of the Big Four, with investors and interest-only loan holders the worst hit.
After Commonwealth Bank and Westpac followed ANZ and NAB in announcing changes to home loan interest rates last week, more lenders have followed suit. Bendigo Bank announced an increase in its investor home loan rates on Friday while St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA have today announced an increased in their variable home loan rates,
These recent announcements leave RAMS as the only brand in the Westpac Group not to have announced any changes to rates yet. The changes for St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA are across variable investor and owner occupier loans and will come into effect on 8 May.
Variable loan changes for Westpac Group:
| Lender | Owner occupier, principal and interest repayments | Owner occupier, interest only repayments | Investor, principal and interest repayments | Investor, interest only repayments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac | +0.03% | +0.08% | +0.23% | +0.28% |
| St.George | No change | +0.08% | +0.23% | +0.31% |
| Bank of Melbourne | +0.03% | +0.11% | +0.31% | +0.39% |
| BankSA | No change | +0.08% | +0.24% | +0.32% |
The changes announced on Friday by Bendigo Bank will be effective on 31 March and affect investor loans only, with an increase of 0.25% across all variable investor loans. There will also be an 80% cap on the loan-to-value ratio for investor loans, which will be effective on 27 March. This means investors will now need at least 20% deposit before taking out a loan with Bendigo Bank.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director Mike Hirst said these changes are part of the bank's attempts to meet the expectations of regulators to dampen the demand for investor lending.
“When setting these rates we’ve tried to carefully balance the interest of our mortgage customers, those who earn money through deposits and those who invest in our bank,” Hirst commented.
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