How the big four banks are responding to the coronavirus crisis

Alex RitchieMar 20, 2020( 3 min read )

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Here is a summary of how the big four banks have responded to the emergency RBA cash rate cut amidst the coronavirus crisis.

CBA

Home loans:

70-basis point cut to 1-, 2-, and 3-year fixed rates – all to 2.29%.
No cuts for variable home loan customers.
Reduction of repayments to minimum required under their loan contract & easier access to overdraft facilities.
Hardship support – deferral of business term loan repayments and overdrafts up to six months.

Term deposits:

12-month term deposit rate hiked 60 basis points to 1.70%.

Small businesses:

1.00% reduction to cash-linked small business loans.
Hardship support – deferral of business term loan repayments and overdrafts.
Deferring repayments on vehicle and equipment finance loans and providing tailored restructuring options that meet individual customer needs.
Waiving of:
- Merchant terminal fees
- Redraw fees
- Early redraw fees
- Establishment fees and excess interest on Temporary Excess products.

Westpac

Home loans:

90-basis points cuts to 1-, 2-, and 3-year fixed rates – all to 2.19%.
No cuts for variable home loan customers.
Hardship support – deferral of home loan repayments for six months.

Term deposits:

Special 12-month term deposit of 1.70%.

Small businesses:

1.00% reduction to variable interest rates on small business cash-based loans.
Overdrafts reduced by 2.00%.
Hardship support – deferral of business term loan repayments for six months.
Merchant terminal rental fee waivers for up to three months.

NAB

Home loans:

60-basis points cut to fixed rates – lowest to 2.19%.
No changes to home loan variable rates.
Hardship support – deferral of home loan repayments up to six months.

Term deposits:

Introduced a 10-month term deposit rate of 1.75% on deposits of $5,000 to $2 million from 24 March.

Small businesses:

Hardship support: Deferral of principal and interest for up to six months on a range of business loans, including floating and variable rates, and equipment finance loans. Also deferral of business credit card repayments.
200-basis point rate cut on new loans and all overdrafts on QuickBiz from 30 March.
Additional 100-basis point cut on variable rates for small business loans, effective 30 March, on top of a 25-bps reduction earlier in March.
Access to up to $65 billion in additional secured limits to pre-assessed customers, with $7 billion currently available for fast assessment process.
Access to up to $9 billion in additional limits for unsecured lending for existing customers via QuickBiz.

ANZ

Home Loans:

49-basis points cut to fixed rates – lowest to 2.19%.
Cut variable rates for both new and existing home loan customers by 0.15 per cent from 27 March.
Hardship support – deferral of home loan repayments up to six months.

Small businesses:

Cut variable interest small business loan rates in Australia by 0.25%, effective from 27 March 2020, resulting in a 0.50% pa reduction since last week.
80-basis points cut to fixed rates – cut to 2.59% for secured small business loans up to $1 million, effective 3 April 2020.
Hardship support - all impacted customers can request a six-month payment deferral on loan repayments for term loans, with interest capitalised.
Made temporary increases in overdraft facilities for 12 months available.

Alex Ritchie

Personal Finance Writer

Alex is a personal finance writer and PR professional at RateCity, and has been writing about finance for over three years. She is passionate about closing the gender pay and superannuation gap, and aims to help young Aussies to overcome their financial apathy and better manage their finances. Alex has been published in numerous print and online outlets, including Money Magazine, Lifehacker Australia, and Business Insider.

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FAQs

Tip: You can use RateCity how much can I borrow calculator to get a quick answer.

How much money you can borrow for a home loan will depend on a number of factors including your employment status, your income (and your partner’s income if you are taking out a joint loan), the size of your deposit, your living expenses and any other debt you might hold, including credit cards.

A good place to start is to work out how much you can afford to make in monthly repayments, factoring in a buffer of at least 2 – 3 per cent to allow for interest rate rises along the way. You’ll also need to factor in additional costs that come with purchasing a property such as stamp duty, legal fees, building inspections, strata or council fees.

If you are planning on renting the property, you can factor in the expected rental income to help offset the mortgage, but again it’s prudent to add a significant buffer to allow for rental management fees, maintenance costs and short periods of no rental income when tenants move out. It’s also wise to factor in changes in personal circumstances – the typical home loan lasts for around 30 years and a lot can happen between now and then.

How the big four banks are responding to the coronavirus crisis

Related news

What the big four banks’ COVID-19 packages mean for households

Is this the end of rate cuts? What the RBA is doing instead

RBA UPDATE: Big banks lead the rate cut charge

RBA fires off an emergency rate cut, Westpac passes it on in full

CBA

Westpac

NAB

ANZ

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