ANZ joins stampede to hike rates on specufestors

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From ANZ:

Principal and interest owner-occupier home lending

  • Variable interest rates for the 80% of owner-occupier borrowers who repay principal and interest on their standard variable home loan remain unchanged at 5.25%pa.

Investor home lending

  • The variable interest rate paid by property investors will increase by 0.25%pa from 5.60%pa to 5.85%pa effective 31 March.

Interest-only home lending

ANZ will introduce new variable interest rates for customers choosing to pay interest-only on their home loans.

  • New lending. From 22 April, variable interest rates for new investor and owner-occupier home loan customers who choose to repay interest-only will increase.

– Investor variable rate home loans (interest only) will increase by a further 0.11%pa from 5.85%pa to 5.96%pa.

– Owner-occupier variable rate home loans (interest only) will increase by 0.20%pa from 5.25%pa to 5.45%pa.

  • Existing lending. From late July, increases applied to new lending will apply to existing investor and owner-occupier variable home loan customers who choose to repay interest-only. ANZ will be writing to existing interest-only variable home loan customers from May to provide them with advance notice of the change and the option of switching to repay principal and interest on their loan at a lower interest rate without incurring a fee.

Business lending

  • For business borrowers, business variable rate indices will increase by 0.08%pa.

ANZ Group Executive Australia Fred Ohlsson said: “We are pleased to be in a position to keep rates unchanged for the 80% of owner-occupier home borrowers who pay principal and interest on their loan.

“This is a clear signal that we are open for business for Australians either looking to buy a home or looking for a better deal.

“The changes we are making in home lending affect investors and borrowers who only repay interest on their loan. These changes reflect a need to closely manage our regulatory obligations, our portfolio risk and the competitive environment.

“We recognise the day-to-day challenges that home-owners face with their house-hold budgets. We believe this is a balanced decision that reflects the range of regulatory and risk factors, and the pressures on family budgets.

“This is why we are providing our customers with interest-only home loans additional notice and the option to switch to repaying principal and interest to take advantage of the lower rate,” Mr Ohlsson said.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.