(14 February 2011 – Australia) NAB is actively trying to nab CBA and Westpac’s mortgage customers, saying it will pay the A$700 mortgage early exit fee for CBA and Westpac customers who switch to NAB’s lower standard variable mortgage rate.Lisa Gray group executive, Personal Bank said for 20 months, NAB has maintained the lowest SVR of the major banks, and NAB customers are currently A$47 a month better off on an average A$300k home loan than the customers of the most expensively priced major bank.
“Late last year NAB had decided to abolish exit fees on variable mortgages because we believed that customers should have the freedom to walk down the road and find a better deal if they are unhappy with their bank.
“We believe that no bank customer should be disadvantaged if they want to access NAB’s lower standard variable rate. So where banks like CBA or Westpac use early exit fees to try and stop their customers accessing NAB’s lower rate, we have decided we will help them switch to NAB by paying their A$700 mortgage early exit fee for them,” Ms Gray said.
In 2009, NAB abolished monthly account service fees and on its most popular personal transaction accounts.
The bank also abolished some of the most complained about fees across a range of personal and transaction accounts and doubled its ATM network through its alliance with RediATM.
“At NAB we are proud of the commitment we have made to our customers to offer fairer banking and to be highly competitive. We believe that what’s good for our customers is good for our business,” Ms Gray said.