Bank cuts fixed home loan rates

Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (TMBL) has cut fixed rates across the bank’s four divisions, which include Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank, and UniBank.

TMBL’s fixed home loan rate changes for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest include a 14 bps decrease to fixed rate home loans across the one-, two- and three-year periods to 2.05 per cent, and an 84 bps decrease for a four-year fixed rate home loan to 1.95 per cent.

The new rates are available to new home loan customers, as well as existing customers currently on a variable rate, or whose fixed rate term has matured, and is effective 23 November.

Applicants that have applied for any of the adjusted fixed rate home loan products who have been approved and not yet funded will automatically receive the new applicable rate on funding.

Commenting on the rate cuts, TMBL head of third-party distribution Mark Middleton said: “2020 has been a challenging year for many Australians, and as we continue to work through the unknown challenges of the pandemic, our focus is to support our members and their communities through difficult times.

“The changes we are announcing today will create an opportunity for our members to access historically low interest rates. Following a year of disruption, home loan customers will have the option to fix part or all of their home loan and lock in some certainty for their household budgets into the future.”

TMBL’s rate cuts have followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to cut the official cash rate from 0.25 per cent to a new record low of 0.10 per cent in November.

“We are operating in an environment where monetary policy is at unprecedented settings,” Mr Middleton said of the RBA’s rate cut.

“We understand the importance of responding to these changes carefully, and we strive to provide the right level of support for our members who contribute so much to their communities as key workers in education, emergency services and healthcare.”

Several lenders and non-major banks announced rate cuts following the RBA’s move, including all of the big four banks, ME Bank, Suncorp, Citi, CUA, P&N Bank, ING Bank, Bendigo Bank, MyState Bank and AMP Bank.

[Related: Bank cuts mortgage rates, scraps maximum loan threshold]