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Westpac hikes variable mortgages and some savings rates post RBA

Liz Seatter avatar
Liz Seatter
- 3 min read
Westpac hikes variable mortgages and some savings rates post RBA

Westpac is the last of the big four banks to announce its response to Tuesday’s RBA decision, six days after the RBA.

The other big banks announced their changes last Friday, on one of the biggest news days of the decade, however, Westpac has chosen to wait until today.

The bank will increase new and existing variable mortgage rates by 0.50 percentage points on 20 September.

Westpac variable rate changes for owner-occupiers – effective 20 September

Old rateNew rateIncrease in repayments, $500K
Lowest variable3.49% for 2yrs then 3.89%3.99% for 2yrs then 4.39%$136
Discounted variable4.94%5.44%$147
Standard variable6.23%6.73%$156

Source: RateCity.com.au. Repayments are for an owner-occupier paying principal and interest with a $500,000 loan over 25 years. New rates effective 20 September 2022. Rates for LVR of 70% or less.

What is Westpac doing for savers?

Westpac has announced it will hike its Life account by 0.50 percentage points and its Bump account for children by 0.65 percentage points from 20 September.

Westpac will also offer a new term deposit for 12 to 23 months at 3.25 per cent from tomorrow.

At this stage, Westpac has not announced changes to its eSaver and Spend&Save accounts.

Westpac savings changes – effective 20 September

Old max rateNew max rateChange
Life1.85%2.35%+0.50%
Bump (ages under 18)1.70%2.35%+0.65%
Spend&Save (ages 18-29)3.25%3.25%No change
eSaver1.80% for 5mths then 0.85%1.80% for 5mths then 0.85%No change 

Source: RateCity.com.au. Note: conditions and balance caps apply for maximum rate on select accounts. New rates effective 20 September 2022.

RateCity.com.au research director, Sally Tindall, said: “Like CBA, Westpac has decided to lift only some of its savings rates this month.”

“There will now be pressure on NAB and ANZ to step up after they notably left savers out of their RBA announcements on Friday,” she said.

“Westpac customers with Life and Bump accounts will see decent rises this month, however, those with eSaver accounts are still only getting an ongoing rate of 0.85 per cent - that’s 1.5 percentage points below the cash rate and 2.75 percentage points behind the market leader.

“ING has today announced it’s increasing its savings rates and will soon offer a rate of 3.6 per cent on its Savings Maximiser account – the equal highest ongoing savings rate alongside Virgin Money.

“If you’re serious about growing your savings, know that once the hikes filter through, a competitive rate will be over 3 per cent,” she said.

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Product database updated 17 May, 2024

This article was reviewed by Data Research Specialist Piyush Pillai before it was published as part of RateCity's Fact Check process.