Major banks have raised fixed mortgage rates by almost double the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent increase in the cash rate as the industry faces mounting funding pressure in a slowing economy.
The RBA raised the cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point, or 25 basis points, to 4.6 per cent last week, and ANZ, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac all raised their fixed rates.
In the past two weeks, NAB has raised its two-year fixed rate by 47 basis points over two moves to 6.81 per cent.
“The ink was barely dry on NAB’s last fixed-rate hike announcement, and it’s already served up another one,” said Sally Tindall, a director at consumer comparison website, Canstar.
The Commonwealth Bank and Westpac moved 48 basis points and 45 basis points higher respectively, leaving ANZ the cheapest two-year fixed rate in the market among the majors at 6.49 per cent, only raising its rates by up to 20 basis points.