Online lender ING Bank made its move in a bid to spice up the competition amongst home-loan providers, repricing its fixed-rate mortgages by cutting interest rates by up to 19 basis points.
ING slashed the rates of its two-, three-, and five-year fixed-rate principal-and-interest home loan products for owner-occupiers. The table below shows the changes to the rates:
ING Fixed-Rate Home Loan for Owner Occupiers |
|||
Fixed-rate term |
Old Rate |
New Rate |
New Comparison Rate |
|
Two-year fixed rate |
3.85% |
3.69% |
4.74% |
|
Three-year fixed rate |
3.93% |
3.64% |
4.65% |
|
Five-year fixed rate |
4.19% |
4.09% |
4.62% |
ING also repriced its fixed-rate P&I home-loan offerings for owner-occupiers with Orange Advantage. This table explains the changes:
ING Fixed-Rate Home Loan for Owner Occupiers with Orange Advantage |
|||
Fixed-rate term |
Old Rate |
New Rate |
New Comparison Rate |
|
Two-year fixed rate |
3.75% |
3.59% |
4.72% |
|
Three-year fixed rate |
3.83% |
3.64% |
4.63% |
|
Five-year fixed rate |
4.09% |
3.99% |
4.58% |
In a think piece in The Australian Financial Review, industry watcher Duncan Hughes said ING’s two-year rate of 3.59% is lower than the one offered by the National Bank of Australia. ING’s three-year fixed-rate home-loans are also the lowest amongst its rivals.
ING did not offer any rate discounts for borrowers taking out a fixed-rate home loan on an interest-only basis.
“ING is targeting principal and interest borrowers as it clarifies borrowing terms and conditions for interest only, partly in response to tougher regulatory terms and conditions,” Hughes said.
ING’s move followed the series of fixed-rate cuts by other lenders in recent weeks. NAB and Virgin money were two of the latest banks to reprice their fixed-rate mortgage products.
Non-major lenders such as customer-owned P&N Bank, non-bank Bluestone, and Heritage Bank also joined the industry-wide rate-cut trend.
