ANZ holds on to slice of rate reduction
(15 October 2012 – Australia) On Friday, ANZ Bank made the decision to pass on a 20 basis point reduction for its variable rate to 6.6 percent – the last of the big four to pass on only part of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s rate cut of 25 basis points.
ANZ chief executive Philip Chronican blamed an increase in competition for deposits for the need to hold on to a margin of the cut.
"Recent stability in wholesale funding markets has been offset by the impact of intense competition for retail deposits as banks seek to improve their funding mix in response to market and regulatory pressures,' Chronican said.
"While this increase in competition is benefiting the majority of our customers through historically high deposit rates relative to the cash rate, last week’s decision from the RBA has provided some scope to once again reduce our variable lending rates."
"Recent stability in wholesale funding markets has been offset by the impact of intense competition for retail deposits as banks seek to improve their funding mix in response to market and regulatory pressures,' Chronican said.
"While this increase in competition is benefiting the majority of our customers through historically high deposit rates relative to the cash rate, last week’s decision from the RBA has provided some scope to once again reduce our variable lending rates."
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