Overview

• Australia’s cash rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.60% on August 12, marking the third cut of the easing cycle.
• Commonwealth Bank and ANZ have applied the 0.25 percentage point reduction to variable home loans from today, and CBA also trimmed selected fixed rates by 0.10 to 0.45 percentage points.
• NAB will reduce standard variable rates from Monday, August 25, while Westpac will apply the full reduction on Tuesday next week after lowering some deposit rates today.
• Canstar says 79 lenders have published variable-rate changes, with most passing on the full cut, though Aussie Home Loans is cutting Aussie Select variable rates by only 0.10 percentage points and Credit Union SA flagged limited investor exceptions.
• Repayment treatment varies: CBA, ANZ and NAB leave repayments unchanged unless customers request a lower amount, while Westpac automatically adjusts minimum direct-debit repayments, and Canstar estimates a $500,000 loan saves about $74 per month from this cut.