CommBank, Macquarie hike mortgage rates as RBA risks build

Thursday brought major home loan rate hikes from two of Australia’s largest mortgage lenders, with fixed rates upped by as much as 70 basis points.

CommBank and Macquarie Bank have lifted fixed home loan rates once more amid expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could resume cash rate hikes within weeks. 

Fixed home loan interest rates are often considered a proxy for banks’ or lenders’ RBA outlooks, and that appears to be the case at CommBank.

The nation’s largest lender is one of the two big four banks predicting the RBA board will hike the cash rate when it meets in early February.

New data released by CommBank today shows consumer spending continued to increase in December – extending its growth streak to 14 months.

“Strong spending will add to concerns in the RBA about the economy breaching its speed limit and on the margin supports our expectation for a rate hike in February,” CommBank head of Australian economics Belinda Allen said.

“The [December quarter] CPI print due 28 January will be critical however to the timing of the anticipated rate hike.”

Banking majors hike fixed home loan rates by up to 70bps

A matter of months have seen many of Macquarie Bank’s fixed rates jumping from under 5% p.a., among the market’s lowest at the time, to nearly 5.6% p.a. today.

Meanwhile, CommBank wiped its 4.99% p.a. deal in late November and now advertises its lowest fixed rate – around 5.8% p.a. – for shorter fixed terms.

Fixed rates now start at 5.79% p.a. at CommBank

The following rates are advertised for owner-occupiers borrowing upwards of $150,000, with loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) of 95% or less, turning to the bank’s fixed rate home loan product with its Wealth Package applied.

Though homebuyers and owners with deposits of 20% or less may face lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

Fixed period	Change	New rate	Comp rate*
One year	+45bp	5.94%	7.56%
Two years	+35bp	5.79%	7.40%
Three years	+70bp	6.04%	7.33%
Four years	+30bp	6.09%	7.25%
Five years	+30bp	6.24%	7.22%

Macquarie Bank hikes lowest fixed offer to 5.59% p.a.

Macquarie Bank has reentered the ring once more, hiking fixed home loan rates for the third time in as many months.

But fixed home loan hikes don’t appear to be turning customers away.

As per the latest APRA data, the bank’s home loan book grew by around 2.3% in November, gaining more than $3 billion worth of mortgages – more than a quarter of the mortgage growth realised across all APRA-regulated lenders.

Here are the latest fixed rate changes posted by Macquarie Bank for owner-occupiers:

Fixed period	LVR	Change	New rate	Comp rate*
One year	<70%	+25bps	5.59%	5.39%
	70-80%	+25bps	5.64%	5.44%
	80-95%	+25bps	6.64%	6.44%
Two years	<70%	+25bps	5.69%	5.43%
	70-80%	+25bps	5.74%	5.48%
	80-95%	+25bps	6.74%	6.48%
Three years	<70%	+25bps	5.74%	5.47%
	70-80%	+25bps	5.79%	5.52%
	80-95%	+25bps	6.79%	6.53%
Four years	<70%	+25bps	5.79%	5.52%
	70-80%	+25bps	5.84%	5.57%
	80-95%	+25bps	6.84%	6.58%
Five years	<70%	+25bps	5.89%	5.60%
	70-80%	+25bps	5.94%	5.65%
	80-95%	+25bps	6.94%	6.66%

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_{Image created on Canva using assets courtesy of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Danausi on Wikimedia Commons}