National Australia Bank slashes rates across savings products
Savers are getting hit again with falls to interest rates on their cash in the bank. Find out what the new rates are.
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Savers are getting stung yet again as one of the nation’s biggest banks today slashes rates across multiple savings accounts.
National Australia Bank has dropped the rate on its popular iSaver and Reward Saver accounts by between 0.11 and 0.15 percentage points.
And now all eyes remain on the remaining big four banks to see if they follow suit.
Their standard savings accounts’ base rates are sitting at a pitiful 0.1 or 0.11 percentage points.
NAB today has cut its iSaver bonus rate by 0.15 percentage points, dropping it from 1.7 per cent to just 1.55 per cent.
While on their Reward Saver account the maximum rate has fallen from 1.61 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
Financial comparison website RateCity’s chief executive Paul Marshall said, “it was a bold move by NAB to cut its savings rates out of cycle, particularly after the bank cut its bonus savings rates by a quarter of a per cent in October”.
“NAB’s decision today will leave savings customers scratching their heads as to why they are being handed a second rate cut, seemingly out of the blue,” he said.
“This news is like rubbing salt into a wound for savers, who have been despondent with savings rates for years.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia board last cut the cash rate in October and it now sits at a record-low level of just 0.75 percentage points.
The board meets again next month for the first time in 2020.
For savers with $10,000 who deposit $200 a month into a NAB Reward Saver account, they would earn $160 per year in interest.
With the reduced rates they would be $11.85 worse off annually.
This is based on the account’s maximum rate of 1.5 per cent.
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But a NAB spokesman defended the move and said they “regularly review pricing on term deposits and savings accounts”.
“We continue to offer competitive rates while responding to market changes and balancing our funding mix,” he said.
“The changes we are making today are designed to deliver a more balanced deposit book.”
The spokesman also said they had increased rates on their five-month term deposit account and they encouraged customers to “lock this in now”.
BIG FOUR STANDARD SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
• NAB, iSaver, base rate 0.11%, intro rate 1.44%, max rate 1.55%.
• Commonwealth Bank, NetBank saver, base rate 0.1%, intro rate 1.55% and max rate 1.65%.
• Westpac, eSaver, base rate 0.1%, intro rate 1.56% and max rate 1.66%.
• ANZ, Online saver, base rate 0.1%, intro rate 1.5% and max rate 1.6%.
Source: RateCity.com.au.