(16 November 2010 – Australia) Bankwest has followed in the footsteps of its parent institution, the Commonwealth Bank, by raising rates beyond the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official cash rate increase.The fully owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank has said it will increase its standard variable interest rate by 40 basis points to 7.7 percent from Wednesday.
The bank has joined a growing list of financial institutions that are ignoring public and political pressure not to raise rates about the RBA’s official movements.
The rate rise by Bankwest falls 5 basis points short of the Commonwealth Bank’s 0.45 percent increase, which sparked national outrage.