Lender changes rates and reinstates standalone P&I investor refinances

Bankwest has announced that, following a hiatus on the acceptance of applications from new customers seeking to refinance their standalone investment lending from other financial institutions, the bank will once again be accepting investor P&I loan refinance applications from brokers.

Further to this, various pricing changes will apply to some P&I loans, including new Complete Variable, Complete Fixed, Premium Select and Fixed Rate Home Loans.

For example, the three-year Complete Fixed Home Loan rate for owner-occupied P&I lending will reduce by 31 basis points to 3.78 per cent p.a. (4.36 per cent p.a. comparison rate).

The Complete Variable Home Loan rate for investment P&I lending of $500,000 or more and up to 90 per cent loan-to-value (LVR) — including LMI — will reduce by 0.40 basis points p.a. to 4.54 per cent p.a. (4.95 per cent p.a. comparison rate).

Should a customer wish to cap a fixed interest rate, a Fixed Rate Cap Fee will also now be payable.

Changes have also been made to the basic Fixed Rate Home Loan for both investors and owner-occupiers, with the majority of the year terms being subject to a rate increase of 0.20 per cent.

The bank also tweaked its policy for interest-only (IO) loans. For new IO lending, the maximum LVR will reduce to 80 per cent, including the Complete Equity and Equity Access Home Loans.

The Complete Fixed Home Loan will no longer be available for IO lending, including home loan transfers.

However, applications submitted for full approval (including fully assessed pre-approvals) prior to 16 June will not be impacted.

Announcing the changes, the bank said: "Bankwest aims to balance the needs of its customers, shareholders, regulators and the community and is mindful of its broader obligations as a responsible lender when reviewing its products and pricing."

[Related: Lender raises rates by 76bps]