- Westpac and NAB are the latest big banks to lower their top term deposit rates
- They join CommBank and ANZ who cut their best term deposit rates the previous day
- Term deposit rates are lowering across the market as odds of another cash rate increase dive
Westpac has shaved five basis points off its top-rate special offer deal for 12-month deposits, now paying 5.20% p.a. (down from 5.25% p.a.) on balances between $5,000 and $2 million with interest paid either monthly, half-yearly, or at maturity.
The special rate is only available to eligible customers who open or renew online (not in branch) and applies to the first term only.
Also on Friday, NAB dropped its nine-month, one- and two-year term deposit rates by up to 20 basis points, with a new top rate of 5.15% p.a. for a 12-month deposit with interest paid annually.
The rate applies to balances of between $5,000 and $1,999,999 and drops to 5.10% p.a. for half-yearly interest and 5.05% p.a. for quarterly or monthly payments.
Westpac and NAB follow their big four peers in edging term deposit rates lower this week after CommBank and ANZ moved on Thursday.
Here's a look at the big four's best term deposit offerings:
| Bank | Best rate | Deposit balance | Conditions | Interest paid |
| CommBank | 5.15% p.a. | $5,000 - $5m | Special offer on term deposits opened or renewed by personal and SMSF customers* | Annually |
| Westpac | 5.20% p.a. | $5,000 - $2m | Special offer for eligible existing customers opening or renewing online only* | Monthly, half-yearly, or at maturity |
| NAB | 5.15% p.a. | $5,000 - $1,999,999 | Newly opened or renewed accounts | At maturity |
| ANZ | 5.25% p.a. | $5,000 - $1,999,999 | Newly opened or renewed accounts | At maturity |
*See full conditions for CommBank and Westpac special offers
NAB also took 20 basis points off its two-year term deposit rates, cutting its best rate to 5.00% p.a. with annual interest payments, with the rate dropping for more frequent payments.
NAB's nine-month rate is also 5.00% p.a. with interest paid end of term - a cut of 10 basis points.
See also: Big four term deposit rates
Big banks lead downward march on term deposit rates
With the four big banks adjusting their rates lower this week, it's another clear signal the market is not expecting a cash rate increase in the near future.
The big four join a raft of smaller banks shifting their rates over the past couple of weeks, most of them lowering their nine-month to two-year rates but some also boosting their shorter-term rates.
This week, Australian Military Bank cut up to 50 basis points from a selection of its six-month to two-year term deposit rates.
Customer-owned GMCU also took 50 basis points off its one- and two-year rates but boosted its six- to eight-month rates by up to 1.35%.
They join a number of smaller banks in making similar adjustments, likely in a bid to attract immediate cash to help meet short-term funding needs while not locking in above-the-odds payouts over longer terms.
Why are banks confident the cash rate won't rise again?
New economic data released this week has reaffirmed market forecasts there will be no further increase to the Reserve Bank cash rate in the current upcycle.
On Thursday, July jobs figures put the unemployment rate at 4.5%, a weaker result than markets were expecting.
The figure matched Australia's highest jobless rate since November 2021 when the country was still recovering from the post-pandemic jobs slump.
The previous day, new data showed Australia's private sector wage growth was at its slowest rate in almost four years.
Overall, wage growth came in at 3.2% over the year to June, holding steady with the previous quarter's figure.
Both data sets indicate the economy is feeling the impact of the three consecutive interest rate increases that kicked off 2026.
A weaker jobs market and slow wage growth also serves to ease inflationary pressures on the wider economy.
July inflation data is due to be released on Wednesday with markets broadly expecting the inflation rate to moderate.
Combined, the indicators should kill off any faint chance of a cash rate hike in September and, according to big bank economists, any further interest rate increase in the current cycle.
The big four bank economists agree the next rate movement will be a cut in the second half of 2027.
AMP GO Save changes take effect
In other deposit market news, AMP Bank's flagged changes to its popular GO Save account took effect on Friday.
The changes see GO Save pay a top variable savings rate of 5.25% p.a. for balance portions up to $50,000 - a 15-basis point increase on the old top rate which had previously been paid on balances up to $500,000.
Balances between $50,000.01 to $250,000 will now receive 4.75% p.a. interest while balances from $250,000.01 to $5 million will be paid 4.25% p.a.
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Want to earn a fixed interest rate on your cash? The table below features term deposits with some of the highest interest rates on the market for a six-month term.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | – | – |
