Macquarie Bank leads latest round of term deposit rate hikes
The scramble in the term deposit market continued this week with another raft of big new returns revealed by Australia's banks.
Macquarie Bank and ING were the biggest names to hike this week, while Judo, Heartland Bank, and Rabobank all also revealed eye catching new rates.
Read more: Will term deposit rates keep surging?
Judo Bank
After already becoming the first bank this cycle to crack the 5% mark for TD rates, Judo Bank fired again this week with a special Lunar New Year offer for eight month terms.
At a top return of 4.86% p.a., Judo now offers the highest short term TD rate (below one year) in the Savings.com.au database.
Read more: Latest term deposit rates from Judo Bank
ING Bank hits 4.80% p.a.
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three months | $10,000+ | End of term | 4.45% p.a. (+0.05) |
| Six months | $10,000+ | End of term | 4.70% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Nine months | $10,000+ | End of term | 4.65% p.a. (+0.05) |
| One year | $10,000+ | End of term | 4.80% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Two years | $10,000+ | End of term | 4.35% p.a. (+0.25) |
ING and Macquarie are the two frontrunners among the major banks as far as TD rates go, and this week ING moved again to remain a step ahead.
Like Macquarie, ING is now offering top returns on its six month and one year products, but both rates are 10 bps ahead of the equivalent product at Macquarie.
At 4.80% p.a., ING's one year rate is the top TD return among any product currently offered by the largest banks in Australia, while its six month rate is now the highest in the Savings.com.au database.
Gateway Bank closing in on 5%
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three months | $1,000+ | End of term | 4.30% p.a. (+0.05) |
| Six months | $1,000+ | End of term | 4.65% p.a. (+0.20) |
| Nine months | $1,000+ | End of term | 4.60% p.a. (+0.20) |
| One year | $1,000+ | End of term | 4.85% p.a. (+0.20) |
Customer-owned Gateway Bank is a bit of a dark horse in the TD market, always near the summit, and this week's round of increases takes it to within spitting distance of the top one year rate.
At 4.85% p.a., the top Gateway return is just 3 bps behind Heartland Bank, the market leader at 4.88% p.a..
Macquarie Bank goes to 4.70%
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three months | $5,000-$1m | End of term | 4.45% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Four months | $5,000-$1m | End of term | 4.45% p.a. (+0.10) |
| One year | $5,000-$1m | End of term | 4.70% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Three months | $1m+ | End of term | 4.35% p.a. (+0.20) |
| Four months | $1m+ | End of term | 4.35% p.a. (+0.20) |
| One year | $1m+ | End of term | 4.55% p.a. (+0.20) |
Rabobank goes harder on long term rates, cracks 5%
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three months | $500,000+ | End of term | 4.30% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Six months | $500,000+ | End of term | 4.45% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Nine months | $500,000+ | End of term | 4.50% p.a. (+0.20) |
| One year | $500,000+ | End of term | 4.65% p.a. (+0.20) |
| Two years | $500,000+ | Annually | 4.60% p.a. (+0.40) |
| Three years | $500,000+ | Annually | 4.70% p.a. (+0.40) |
| Four years | $500,000+ | Annually | 4.80% p.a. (+0.25) |
| Five years | $500,000+ | Annually | 5.00% p.a. (+0.30) |
Rabobank tends to focus on longer term rates (more than one year), and this week applied its biggest hikes to those products.
Rabo is the second bank in the Savings.com.au database to crack the 5% mark after Judo, both offering that return on five year terms.
There's a catch though - Rabo only offers 5% for deposits over $500,000, whereas Judo offers its top rate for all customers.
If you don't have quite that much, Rabo offers deposits between $100,000 and $500,000 for a 10 bps discount, or a 20 bps discount for deposits under $100,000 (starting at $1,000).
Heartland Bank hikes six month rates
Heartland Bank remains the outright leader among products in the Savings.com.au database for one year and nine month terms, but for six months it still is lagging behind competitors like ING.
This week though, it closed the gap with a 10 bps increase to six month rates, taking the top return to 4.65% p.a. - just 5 bps behind ING.
Bank Australia/Qudos Bank go to 4.70
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three months | $500 for Bank Australia, $1,000+ for Qudos | End of term | 4.30% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Six months | $500 for Bank Australia, $1,000+ for Qudos | End of term | 4.60% p.a. (+0.20) |
| Nine months | $500 for Bank Australia, $1,000+ for Qudos | End of term | 4.60% p.a. (+0.20) |
| One year | $500 for Bank Australia, $1,000+ for Qudos | End of term | 4.70% p.a. (+0.10) |
AMP Go hits 4.8%
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six months | $5,000+ | End of term | 4.70% p.a. (+0.20) |
| One year | $5,000+ | End of term | 4.80% p.a. (+0.15) |
After hefty increases this week, AMP Go now matches ING for both six months and one year.
AMP Go is the bank's digital arm that only recently began offering term deposits - AMP also offers its standard term deposit range which saw rates boosted up as well this week.
The top rate there is 4.75% p.a. for deposits over $25,000.
Other movers
- Credit Union SA varied rates, including a new 4.75% p.a. top return for one year.
- Great Southern Bank hiked rates by up to 15 bps. Its top rate on its standard products becomes 4.55% p.a. for seven month or one year terms. However, on its Platinum Plus range, available exclusively to customers aged over 55, it now offers 4.65% p.a. for one year terms, or 4.55% p.a. for interest paid monthly.
- BCU Bank adjusted term deposit rates by up to 60 bps, including a new top rate of 4.50% p.a. for one year terms.
- P&N Bank adjusted by up to 10 bps, taking its top one year rate to 4.35% p.a.
- RACQ Bank hiked rates, including a new top rate of 4.60% p.a. for one year terms
- Teachers Mutual Group hiked rates by up to 70 bps, taking its top rate to 4.50% p.a. That applies to all the banks in the stable including Teachers Mutual, Firefighters Mutual, Health Professionals, and Unibank, and is available for seven month, nine month or one year terms.
- The Mutual Bank hiked three month, six month, nine month, and one year rates while cutting one, two, and four month returns. Its new top rate is now 4.35% p.a. for six month terms.
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| Bank | Term Deposit | Interest Rate | Interest Frequency | Term | Automatic Rollover | Maturity Alert | Early Withdrawal Available | Minimum Deposit | Maximum Deposit | Notice Period to Withdraw | Account Keeping Fee | Online Application | Joint Application | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
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5.35% p.a. | At Maturity | 6 months | $5,000 | $19,999 | – | – | |||||||||||||
5.20% p.a. | At Maturity | 6 months | $10,000 | $5,000,000 | – | – | |||||||||||||
5.15% p.a. | At Maturity | 6 months | $1,000 | $1,000,000 | – | – |
