NAB bank dramatically cut interest rates for millions of Australians: Here’s how much you’ll save

A major Australian bank has cut variable mortgage rates even as borrowers missed out on help from the Reserve Bank.

NAB has reduced its base rate for owner-occupiers by 40 basis points, bringing the variable rate down to 6.44 percent.

But it is far from the lowest variable rate of any Big Four bank, with ANZ offering 6.14 per cent and the Commonwealth Bank 6.15 per cent on their digital home loans.

NAB’s latest cut is a sign of intensifying competition from the big banks, even as Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock has hinted at another possible rate hike.

Sally Tindall, Canstar’s director of data insights, said that while the NAB offer was only for new customers, it meant borrowers had leeway with the big banks to negotiate a better deal on their loan.

“If you’re an existing customer, there’s nothing stopping you from picking up the phone and asking for a rate reduction,” she said.

The Reserve Bank of Australia this month left cash rates unchanged at 4.35 percent, leaving borrowers without support, despite the US, UK, Canada, European Union and New Zealand already cutting rates this year.