Variable	1 Year Fixed	2 Years Fixed	3 Years Fixed

Company	Product	Rate %	Go to Site
	Standard Variable	6.39
	SuperStar	6.47
	Premium Plus Pkg <$500k	6.49
	Budget Home Loan	6.52
	EasyStart	6.54

These variable rate home loans are ranked by interest rate on balance of $250,000.

Company	Product	Rate %	Go to Site
	Great Rate HL 1-12m fxd	6.69
	1 year Fixed	6.74
	1 year Fixed	6.79
	1 Year Fixed	6.79
	Fixed ProPack1 1yr	6.79

These 1 Year fixed rate home loans are ranked by interest rate on balance of $250,000.

Company	Product	Rate %	Go to Site
	2 Year Fixed	6.79
	2 year Fixed n Easy	6.95
	True 2 year Fixed	6.99
	Fixed ProPack1 2yr	6.99
	Great Rate HL 13-24m fxd	6.99

These 2 Years fixed rate home loans are ranked by interest rate on balance of $250,000.

Company	Product	Rate %	Go to Site
	3 year Fixed	6.89
	3 year Fixed n Easy	6.97
	Classic 3 year Fixed	6.99
	Great Rate HL 25-36m fxd	6.99
	Fixed ProPack1 3yr	6.99

These 3 Years fixed rate home loans are ranked by interest rate on balance of $250,000.

5 Stars Mortgages - Variable Rate

Company	Product	Rate %	Go to Site
	Standard Variable	6.39
	Premium Plus Pkg <$500k	6.49
	Budget Home Loan	6.52
	Home Sweet Home Ln$250k+	6.75

These loans have low rates and offer things like redraw facilities and the ability to make additional repayments

This is an information service. By browsing on the website and/or using our search tools, you are asking RateCity to provide you with information about home loans from multiple financial institutions. We will try to show you a range of products in response to your request for information. We are not a credit provider, and in giving you product information we are not making any suggestion or recommendation to you about a particular credit product. If you decide to apply for a home loan, you will deal directly with a financial institution, and not with RateCity.

Rate rebels – Banks hike fixed rate home loans

By Jack Han, RateCity.com.au
19 June 2009

Last week, the Commonwealth Bank was burned by public backlash over its decision to raise their variable interest rates by 10 basis points in spite of worsening employment outlooks. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has described it as “selfless”, voicing federal condemnation of the decision.

Less than a week later, CBA, along with NAB and Westpac, have all decided to lift rates on its fixed rate loans by up to 50 basis points, sparking debate about whether the big banks have really outgrown the government’s leash.

The rate hikes bring CBA’s 3 year fixed rate home loans to 6.69% - higher than all the major banks. Westpac raised its own up to 6.59%, while NAB trails close behind at 6.49%. These figures are all heads above the RBA indicator rate for 3 year fixed loans, which is 5.85% - the only one close to it is St George, which rests at 5.99% at the time of writing.

So what has caused the gap? The banks have defended themselves by citing funding cost pressures as the big wedge, with CBA executive Ross McEwan saying that the bank has absorbed the additional costs for as long as they could. Opposition minister Tony Abbott has a different take, blaming the government’s high levels of borrowing: "It puts enormous pressure on interest rates - it always does, it always will".

Big banks have raised fixed and rate home loans

Whatever the cause, the fact is that unemployment has increased again in May, from 5.5% to 5.7%, with no outlook for relief any time soon. A rate bump is just an extra hit to families, as well as first home buyers hoping to lock in rates at historical lows. A cushion of 0.84% above indicator rates means an extra $30 a week on a $250,000 loan, which is enough to dig into the groceries of households already experiencing mortgage stress.

The government is now under immense pressure to use bite over bark in putting the banks in place; the rate increase has been the latest in a long slew of defiance – back in March, in response to a law discouraging foreign ATM fees, banks started charging ATM users directly; it’s clear that any effort to guide Australian banking will be met with heavy resistance. However, now that major Aussie banks are all in the top 20 in the world, there’s little doubt that they’re at least doing something right.

For everyday consumers, the good news is that there are still ways around the rate boost. Comparing today’s lowest rates, it’s easy to find products even below RBA indicator rates, saving you almost 1.5% (more than $200 a month). Banks and ministers will always be fanning the flames of debate, but in the heat of the interest rate battle, Australians taking the initiative to fend for themselves will be out of the smoke first.

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