UBank, Westpac, Teachers Mutual & others chop home loan rates below 3%

It’s been a big year for home loan rate cuts, and with the RBA not expected to cut the cash rate again till next year, this week’s cuts by Westpac, UBank, St George, Bank of Melbourne and Teachers Mutual Bank could be among the last we see in 2019.

With three cash rate cuts from the Reserve Bank this year and at least one more expected in the near future, it’s never been a better time to be a borrower.

After cutting rates this week, big four bank Westpac, its subsidiaries St George and Bank of Melbourne, the customer-owned Teachers Mutual, plus NAB-owned online bank UBank are now among the many lenders offering home loans with advertised rates below 3% p.a.

Below are some of the lowest variable home loan rates on offer across the big four banks, customer-owned banks and larger non-banks.

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. Introductory rate products were not considered for selection. Monthly repayments were calculated based on the selected products’ advertised rates, applied to a $400,000 loan with a 30-year loan term. Rates correct as at 1 November 2019. View disclaimer.

Westpac fixed rate cuts

Westpac has cut a number of its fixed rates and doubled the discount for new borrowers with big deposits.

Borrowers who have a healthy deposit of at least 30% will receive 10% off the headline rate. Borrowers with smaller deposits won’t receive any discounts. The discount isn’t available to existing customers.

The discount will apply to owner-occupier and investment loans, variable and fixed loans including package deals.

The big four bank has also reduced rate cuts for a number of its fixed home loans:

• Two-year fixed Premier Advantage for borrowers making principal and interest (P&I) repayments with a loan size of $150k with an LVR of 70% has been cut by 5 basis points to 2.88% p.a. (comparison rate 3.75% p.a.)
• Three-year fixed Premier Advantage for borrowers making principal and interest (P&I) repayments with a loan size of $150k with an LVR of 70% has been cut by 5 basis points to 2.88% p.a. (comparison rate 3.75% p.a.)

UBank variable rate cuts

UBank finally materialised the rate cuts it announced earlier in the month following the RBA rate cut, slashing various rates by 25 basis points:

• Discount offer for owner-occupiers making P&I repayments with a loan size of $200k has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.84% p.a. (comparison rate 2.84% p.a.)
• Discount Offer for owner-occupiers making P&I repayments with a loan size of $700k+ has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.84% p.a (comparison rate 2.84% p.a.)
• Discount Offer for owner-occupiers making P&I repayments with a loan size of $100-199k has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.99% p.a. (comparison rate 2.99% p.a.)

Teachers Mutual Bank rate cuts

Starting from today, Teachers Mutual Bank is launching a special one-year introductory rate of 2.80% p.a. (3.29% p.a. comparison rate*) for its Classic Home Loan.

The rate is available for a limited time only to owner-occupiers with a deposit of at least 20%, with a loan size from $250,000 to $1,000,000 from any Teachers Mutual Bank Limited Brand (Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank or UniBank.

Bank of Melbourne variable rate cuts

Bank of Melbourne is now offering variable rates as low as 2.94% p.a. (comparison rates differ, see below):

• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR of 60% has been cut by 15 basis points to 2.94% p.a. (2.96% p.a. comparison rate)
• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR between 60% and 80% have been cut by 15 basis points to 2.99% p.a. (3.01% p.a. comparison rate)
• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR between 80% to 95% has been cut by 15 basis points to 3.04% p.a. (3.06% p.a. comparison rate)

St George variable rate cuts

Like fellow Westpac Subsidiary Bank of Melbourne, St George is also offering new rates as low as 2.94%, with the bank cutting by 15 basis points:

• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR of at least 60% has been cut to 2.94% p.a. (2.96% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR of 60% to 80% has been cut to 2.99% p.a. (3.01% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Basic Promo Variable for borrowers making P&I repayments with an LVR of over 80% has been cut to 3.04% p.a. (3.06% p.a. comparison rate*)

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Disclaimers

The entire market was not considered in selecting the above products. Rather, a cut-down portion of the market has been considered which includes retail products from at least the big four banks, the top 10 customer-owned institutions and Australia’s larger non-banks:

• The big four banks are: ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac
• The top 10 customer-owned Institutions are the ten largest mutual banks, credit unions and building societies in Australia, ranked by assets under management in November 2019. They are (in descending order): Credit Union Australia, Newcastle Permanent, Heritage Bank, Peoples’ Choice Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank, Greater Bank, IMB Bank, Beyond Bank, Bank Australia and P&N Bank.
• The larger non-bank lenders are those who (in 2020) has more than $9 billion in Australian funded loans and advances. These groups are: Resimac, Pepper, Liberty and Firstmac.

Some providers' products may not be available in all states. To be considered, the product and rate must be clearly published on the product provider's web site.

In the interests of full disclosure, Savings.com.au, Performance Drive and Loans.com.au are part of the Firstmac Group. To read about how Savings.com.au manages potential conflicts of interest, along with how we get paid, please click through onto the web site links.

*The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

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