Karl Stefanovic speaks out on Today Show over annoying thing Australian banks do with interest rates

Karl Stefanovic has lashed out at Australian banks for hitting their mortgage holders with massive rate hikes while also giving new customers a sweet deal.

The Today Show star spoke out Friday morning as lenders face an 11.3 percent contraction in new borrowers.

The TV star said he was “annoyed” at the bad deal existing mortgage buyers are getting compared to new customers, who have received bigger discounts on their rates.

“You know what really annoys me?” Stefanovic asked the show’s guest, finance guru Effie Zahos,

TV host Karl Stefanovic (pictured) said Friday: ‘What really, really, really annoys me – the fact that the banks have already raised our interest rates, but if you are a new customer – you get a nice deal’

His co-host Sarah Abo joked, “A lot of stuff.”

“No, but what really, really, really annoys me — the fact that the banks have already raised our interest rates, but if you’re a new customer — you get a great deal,” he said.

“That’s the money world, Karl,” Mrs. Zahos said. ‘It’s frustrating for me because [the banks] trust people are lazy to support the discounts.”

Ms. Zahos, editor-in-chief of Canstar, called on those associated with a loan to make a better deal with their lenders or get out.

“They don’t want you to leave – [if] when you leave, you take your savings with you,’ she said. “If you can put in the effort to do it, you’ll save yourself a fortune.”

Commonwealth Bank (pictured) offers an interest rate of 4.19 percent for new customers

Westpac offers the cheapest interest rate to new borrowers at 3.99 percent, with the loan increasing to a higher rate over two years.

ANZ’s lowest new mortgage rate is 4.19 percent, while the NAB has a rate of 4.24 percent up for grabs.

Commonwealth Bank also offers a rate of 4.19 percent for new customers.

The Today’s Show host’s comments come as Australians trying to buy a home are faced with the prospect of paying back huge mortgages.

Mortgage holders faced a fifth consecutive monthly rate hike after the Reserve Bank imposed another 0.5 percentage point hike this month.

The Reserve Bank announced its latest increase of 50 basis points on Sept. 6, bringing the official cash interest rate to 2.35 percent.

All the big four Australian banks have passed on the increase in full.

Ms. Zahos (pictured, left) called on those who had a loan to make a better deal with their lenders or get out

The latest increase pushed all major banks’ default floating interest rates for interest-only loans above seven percent.

The central bank has now imposed interest rate hikes on mortgage-backed Australians in May, June, July, August and September.

That is the strongest series of increases in a calendar year since 1994.

Reserve bank governor Philip Lowe said this would be far from the last rate hike during this monetary policy tightening cycle in the central bank’s bid to contain rising inflation.

Inflation is expected to hit a new 32-year high in 2022 as consumers continue to spend.

“The board expects to raise interest rates further in the coming months, but it is not on a certain path,” he said on Tuesday.

“The size and timing of future rate hikes will be determined by the incoming data and the board’s assessment of the inflation and labor market outlook.

Meanwhile, new research from Roy Morgan revealed that an estimated 854,000 mortgage holders – 19.4 percent – were at risk of “mortgage stress.”

Demand for home loans has fallen by 11.3 percent this year, according to the ABS.

Westpac (pictured) offers the cheapest interest rate to new borrowers of 3.99 percent, with the loan increasing to a higher rate in two years