NATIONAL Australia Bank increases home loan interest rates

NAB increases home loan interest rates

NATIONAL Australia Bank has become the latest bank to turn the screws on homeowners, hiking its standard variable rate by 15 basis points to 9.61 per cent.

The new rate, which takes effect from tomorrow, will add just over $7 to the weekly repayments on a $300,000 mortgage taken out over 30 years.

NAB is playing catch-up to other major lenders who have already pushed through rate hikes.

On Friday the Commonwealth Bank of Australia lifted its rates by 14 basis points, pushing up its standard variable rate home loan to 9.58 per cent per annum and its basic variable rate to 9.07 per cent.

ANZ also pushed through a sneaky 15 basis point rate rise late on Friday afternoon, after the share market closed. ANZ’s new standard variable rate of 9.62 per cent came into effect today.

St George Bank was the first major lender to move in this latest bout of rate hikes, raising its standard variable rate by 20 basis point to 9.67 per cent on July 4.

Meanwhile, AMP Bank also said it would increase its standard variable home loan interest rate for existing customers by 0.20 per cent, to 9.67 per cent. The standard variable rate for new customers will increase by 0.11 per cent to 9.67 per cent per annum. The changes take effect this week.

The banks have once again moved independently of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which opted to keep official rates steady at a 12-year high of 7.25 per cent when it met on July 2.

The banks have all cited higher borrowing costs as the main reason for raising rates. Banks are finding it more expensive to source money for borrowers.The sub-prime crisis - which was sparked when US lenders lost billions of dollars on bad loans - means banks have pay more for the money they borrow to lend to consumers.

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