Adelaide Bank announced an increase to its standard variable interest rate as follows, effective Friday, 20 November.
The rates are as follows:
- 0.07% p.a. to 4.21%. for Smart Saver loans
- 0.12% p.a. to 4.26%. for SmartFit loans
- 0.12% p.a. to 4.66%. for Smart Saver investor loans
- 0.17% p.a. to 4.71%. for SmartFit investor loans
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Managing Director Mike Hirst said the decision to adjust rates takes into account a wide range of factors, including the needs of all stakeholders, maintaining competitive pricing and capital requirements.
The fact that another non-IRB lender has lifted rates to existing mortgage holders (ME Bank already did), demonstrates that the repricing is all about market competition and margin protection using the alibi of regulator driven capital changes. It also provides room for deep discounting on new owner occupied loans, where the battle currently lies. We do not see changes to deposit rates, so the banks pocket the difference.
We expect other banks to follow the herd.
