Teachers Mutual Bank boosts savings account rate to 5.50% p.a.

New and existing customers are eligible for the Target Saver 5.50% p.a. savings account rate with no maximum deposit limit.

Balances over $5 million will be subject to acceptance at the bank’s discretion.

The Target Saver rate applies across the entire Teachers Mutual Bank (TMBL) group including UniBank, Firefighters Mutual, Health Professionals, and Hiver.

To join Teachers Mutual Bank, consumers must be citizens or permanent residents of Australia who are current or retired employees in the education sector, or are family members of members of the bank.

However as the rate applies across the group, other professionals may also apply. For example, UniBank's membership is open to anyone who has a degree from an Australian university.

Teachers Mutual Bank 5.50% p.a. Target Saver eligibility criteria

To attain the full rate, customers must:

• Deposit a minimum of $1,000 each month
• Make no withdrawals each month
• Keep a positive balance in your account at all times

Should savers fail to meet the above criteria in any given month, the base rate of 0.01% applies. 

There are $0 monthly, overdraw, or electronic transfer fees.

Savings account ladder

Following Teachers Mutual Bank’s decision to hike its Target Saver rate to 5.50%, they now compete in the savings sphere with the likes of:

Read More: Which banks offer savings accounts above 5%?

Is the end of high savings account rates near?

According to some major economists, the cash rate may have peaked at 4.10%.

If these predictions are accurate - the curtains have come to a close - savings accounts are likely to remain where they are until the RBA hints at either an increase or a cut in rates.

When the cash rate is lowered, interest rates tend to follow as financial institutions pass on these cuts to consumers.  

CommBank Senior Economist Belinda Allen believes the RBA will not hike the cash rate again in this cycle.

“Looking further ahead, our base case sees the RBA commence an easing cycle in the first quarter of 2024, with the 18‑19 March meeting our favoured meeting under the new schedule,” Ms Allen said.

“Overall we are looking for 100 basis points of policy easing by end‑2024 that would take the cash rate to 3.10%.”

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