Rates of the Nation report, savers suffering

With RBA-led rate changes, and significant out-of-cycle activity from the institutions, RateCity has unearthed some key trend data in the personal finance category during Q2:

• Home loans – fixed rates remain the biggest movers again this quarter, with activity from both the majors and the non-major banks, which have continued to push rates to 60-year lows in the home loan space. Fixed home loans on average are sitting below variable rates. But at the lower end of the variable market, rates sit below the most competitive fixed product.
• Credit cards – purchase interest rates have increased slightly – as have annual fees – during the quarter, which can be partly attributed to a number of premium cards becoming available in the market. The number of purchase rate intro deals has dropped off slightly, making way for more balance transfer intro rate deals following the Christmas spending period. It’s expected that the number of ‘bonus offers’ – such as cashback and frequent flyer points – on credit cards will increase in the coming quarter as providers look to capture new business.
• Deposit accounts – deposit rates have tracked down on average over the period, with online savers and term deposit rates falling by more than was passed down by the Reserve Bank during this period.

To see the full overview, with commentary from banking analyst Peter Arnold, please click below or see the attached Rates of the Nation report. For customised commentary or research in other categories please get in touch.