Second tier lender undercuts majors
Bankwest has undercut the big four by announcing the cheapest three and five year fixed rates on the market.
The decision to slash its fixed rate products comes less than one month after CBA, ANZ, Westpac and St George all announced cuts to their fixed rate mortgages.
Bankwest’s head of mortgages Dean Gillespie said the second tier lender had slashed more than 25 basis points off its three year fixed rate product.
Effective this week, Bankwest will slash 26 basis points from its three year fixed rate and 20 basis points from its five year fixed rate, taking them to 7.38 and 7.89 respectively.
“We wanted to deliver products to our customers that are market leading, and with these recent rate cuts, we believe we are doing just that,” Mr Gillespie said.
But despite the recent rate cuts, demand for fixed rates is still relatively low.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, fixed loans represent just 2.1 per cent of all dwellings financed in March – the lowest level since December 2008.
This data aside, Mr Gillespie said the industry should start to see a greater shift towards fixed rate products in the coming months.
“We are already starting to see renewed interest in fixed rate products, and with the latest cuts, I believe demand will increase.”