Browse Forums Home Finance 1 Jun 12, 2009 5:56 pm From news.com.au (not good!) who next no doubt others will follow! http://www.news.com.au/business/money/s ... 10,00.html Few decisions more selfish, says Swan By staff writers and AAP NEWS.com.au June 12, 2009 01:31pm • CBA lifts rates by 0.1 pc • 'Not justified' says Wayne Swan • IMF forecast: Signs of world recovery TREASURER Wayne Swan says there have been few decisions made more selfish than that of the Commonwealth Bank's move to lift variable interest rates today. The CBA will raise the interest rates on its home and business loans by 10 basis points to offset higher funding costs. The rate on its standard variable loans will rise to 5.74 per cent, from 5.64 per cent, from Monday June 15. Interest rates on a range of its fixed home loans and its Residentially Secured Better Business Loan will also rise by 10 basis points from Monday. The increase in fixed rates does not affect existing customers. "This is a decision the bank has made reluctantly,'' CBA group executive of retail banking services Ross McEwan said. But he's not getting any sympathy from Mr Swan, who said the decision hinders any effort by the Federal Government to lift the economy out of the gloom of the global financial crisis. "The decision by the Commonwealth Bank gets in the way of interest rates relief, measures to stimulate our economy and to support jobs,'' Mr Swan said. "I think Australians rightly will be furious with the Commonwealth Bank for hindering the efforts of the Commonwealth Government, the Reserve Bank and the community to support our economy during the global recession.'' Asked if the decision was a snub to the Government given it had put in place measures to guarantee bank funding, Mr Swan said: "I think it's a selfish decision from the Commonwealth Bank. "There are ups and downs when it comes to those decisions over time, but there are few decisions I can think of that are more selfish than this one.'' Mr Swan said all banks must pull together and support the Australian economy. ANZ and the National were both quick to tell the media their rates were "constantly under review" following the CBA's announcement. CBA is the first major bank in Australia to lift interest rates on its mortgages since the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) commenced cutting the official cash rate in in September 2008. Since then, the RBA has cut the cash rate by 425 basis points to a current three per cent. CBA head of retail products Michael Cant told AAP the bank was still the most competitive player in the market for home loans. "Our rate is still the lowest of all major banks," he said. CBA cited increased wholesale funding costs and the cost of funding deposits as the reason for its interest rates decision. Treasurer Lyn Cobley said the bank raised between $31 billion and $32 billion in term funding in fiscal 2009 and will need to raise around $30 billion in fiscal 2010 to fund the expansion in its retail loan book. The price of raising funds from offshore wholesale markets was still 12 times higher than it was prior to the credit crisis, she said. She said the price of raising funds in the domestic market was between 120 basis points and 130 basis points above the bank bill swap rate. "In the offshore markets depending on where you access them, they could be anywhere from 20 to 50 to 70 basis points more," she said. Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 2Jun 12, 2009 6:04 pm Does this mean they're going to raise their deposit interest rates by 0.1%? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 3Jun 12, 2009 6:05 pm We are with the CBA and very angry and unimpressed. Its just typical though - don't pass on all the cuts but put increases through as soon as possible. .1% will hardly break anyone but its the principle of the thing. Dale. Building the Monaco 32 with Carlisle Homes Check out our blog for photos and progress reports: http://www.beigefreehouse.blogspot.com . Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 4Jun 12, 2009 10:31 pm ******** Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 5Jun 12, 2009 11:09 pm Thumbs down to CBA Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 6Jun 13, 2009 7:17 am Casa2 Does this mean they're going to raise their deposit interest rates by 0.1%? I hope so , though i doubt it ... Proves one thing , having Wayne Swann on your case is a bit like being mauled by a gummy bear Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 7Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am Our broker suggested Commonwealth, so far nothing but troubles. Now their rates aren't even marginally better like they were when we applied. As soon as construction is complete, I'm walking. ICK So glad the building is over, never again. Loooove our house, but still not quite sure it was worth all of the stress they put us through! Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 8Jun 13, 2009 12:35 pm We've been really happy with the Commonwealth... our loan was approved without any hassles, and the package we've got gives us 0.70% p.a. discount off the Standard Variable Rate. All in all I've been pretty impressed with the service and our loan package. That said, I have heard some horror stories about the Com - but who hasn't heard a bad story about any of Australia's big banks? At the end of the day, they're all just after our money hehe Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 9Jun 13, 2009 1:04 pm As I mentioned earlier in this post, if funds are more expensive for the Commonwealth Bank, as they've stated, then they should increase all their customer's deposit rates by 0.1%. If they don't raise their deposit rates by 0.1% they would have * and are just after more money for their executives and profits. Which is it Commonwealth Bank? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Commonwealth bank to increase their variable home loan rate 11Jun 17, 2009 12:01 pm we are with cba and have been very happy with then and there service,Just remember it does not matter which bank you are with they will all follow anyway.With have been several different banks over the years the worse one would be anz.Our local cba branch is just lovely the staff are great and very friendly as is the manager finished building 40 square home on 5 acres with perry homes.working on the landscaping just finished pool deck with ://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=2217 How much are you ahead in payments compared to where the build is at? Have you fully drawn down the loan? 5 9147 The biggest challenge will be if you take out a loan and then run out of money - you'll have an incomplete security and lenders do not like this so you can get stuck.… 2 13478 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 64719 |