Westpac, St George cut home loan interest rates

WESTPAC are the latest bank to cut rates, slicing 0.2 percentage points off standard variabe home loans.

WESTPAC and St George are the latest banks to cut rates, with Westpac slicing 20 basis points and St George 21 basis points from standard variable home loan rates

The interest rate on Westpac's standard variable home loans will fall to 8.36 per cent from 27 October.

St George's rates will fall to 8.36 per cent from October 31.

St George's cut follows an 80 basis point reduction in its standard rate less than two weeks ago, which came after the Reserve Bank lowered the cash rate by 100 basis points.

"We believe this move reinforces St George's commitment to remain highly competitive in the home loan market,'' St George's head of retail Les Matheson said.

"Today’s interest rate cut can reduce customers’ monthly repayments by approximately $35 on a $250,000 mortgage, delivering further timely relief to household budgets,” Westpac Retail and Business Banking executive's Peter Hanlon said.

The latest cuts comes as Australian banks compete to pass on rates.

The moves by the big four - Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and ANZ  - means that all have now passed on in full a 100 basis point cut in official rates by the central bank on October 7.

Yesterday, Commonwealth Bank dropped its interest rates on both variable and fixed home loans after NAB, ANZ and Aussie Home Loans all reduced their rates over the weekend.

CBA  said it will reduce its standard variable rate home loan by 21 basis points to 8.32 per cent, and its basis variable home loan to 7.81 per cent.

ANZ dropped its interest rates on variable home loans by 25 basis points to 8.32 per cent for new and existing customers, effective from October 27.

NAB is dropping its standard variable home loan rate by 20 basis points to 8.36 per cent.

With AAP