ANZ announces reduction in certain fixed and special home loan interest rates. The nation’s biggest bank announced it will reduce its one-year fixed rate special by 16 basis points, bringing it down to 4.79%.
The bank said this was the lowest that rate had reached since June 2022.
The bank also reduced the six-month fixed rate special to 5.14% and lowered its two-year fixed rate special to 4.89%.
The 18-month fixed rate special was reduced to 4.79%, while the three-year special fixed rate remained unchanged.
Grant Knuckey, managing director of personal banking, said the changes would offer greater relief to customers securing new home loans, as well as those needing to refinance, amid an ongoing challenging economic environment.
“The cuts provide another opportunity for borrowers not already on fixed rates to take advantage of the falling interest rate environment.”
The bank was also reducing term investment rates by 10 to 15 basis points.
“Savers are bearing slightly less of the fall in interest rates,” Knuckey said.
“Our rates started to drop from March 2024. In this period, our one-year home loan special rate has fallen by 2.6%, and our one-year term deposit rate has dropped by 2.4%.”
Will other lenders follow?
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said he anticipates that other lenders will follow ANZ’s lead within the next week.
“These new rates from ANZ all look to be the market-leading rates for these terms now, and other banks will likely to move to regain their competitive position.
Olsen said ANZ was acting ahead of the upcoming official cash rate (OCR) decision.
“The cuts look to be in anticipation of the Reserve Bank cutting the official cash rate at next week’s monetary policy statement, with market pricing in a very strong expectation of a cut.”