NAB pledges to keep in line with RBA
(6 April 2010 – Australia) National Australia Bank has said it will not move its standard variable interest rate beyond any change the RBA makes in April, after its rival Westpac said it could make no such promise.
Only weeks ago Westpac’s chairman, Ted Evan’s, said that the bank’s interest rates would continue to rise independently of official RBA hikes for at least the next five years, adding that the RBA’s rate was no longer the primary guide interest rates movements.
NAB has taken advantage of Westpac’s position with its promise to consumers saying it would not move outside of official RBA moves and adding that its ‘fairer banking approach’ was attracting more customers that ever.
NAB Personal Banking group executive, Lisa Gray said that the bank remains committed to putting competition and choice back into banking for Australians.
It is integral to the bank’s long-term business strategy which is unashamedly competitive and commercial, attracting new customers and retaining existing ones, Ms Gray commented.
Over recent months the bank has seen an increase in the number of Australians coming to NAB. This has been across a range of products, but particularly personal transaction accounts and home loans, Ms Gray added.
Ms Gray also highlighted that last week the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) both confirmed that for the first time in five years NAB outperformed the financial system in home lending growth during February.
In addition, NAB signed up over 145,000 new transaction accounts between October 2009 and February 2010 – over 50 percent of those were new to NAB customers, Ms Gray noted.
Ms Gray attributed the uplift in customers joining NAB partially to the bank’s position on raising rates and the fact it kept rates within the RBA’s movements in December when many rivals did not.
NAB has taken advantage of Westpac’s position with its promise to consumers saying it would not move outside of official RBA moves and adding that its ‘fairer banking approach’ was attracting more customers that ever.
NAB Personal Banking group executive, Lisa Gray said that the bank remains committed to putting competition and choice back into banking for Australians.
It is integral to the bank’s long-term business strategy which is unashamedly competitive and commercial, attracting new customers and retaining existing ones, Ms Gray commented.
Over recent months the bank has seen an increase in the number of Australians coming to NAB. This has been across a range of products, but particularly personal transaction accounts and home loans, Ms Gray added.
Ms Gray also highlighted that last week the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) both confirmed that for the first time in five years NAB outperformed the financial system in home lending growth during February.
In addition, NAB signed up over 145,000 new transaction accounts between October 2009 and February 2010 – over 50 percent of those were new to NAB customers, Ms Gray noted.
Ms Gray attributed the uplift in customers joining NAB partially to the bank’s position on raising rates and the fact it kept rates within the RBA’s movements in December when many rivals did not.
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