Westpac a ‘serial offender’
(24 March 2010 – Australia) Westpac could face major political and public backlash over revelations it plans to charge interest on credit card fees and interest, as well as possible rises in rates due to a 30 to 40 percent basis point rise in lending costs.
The chairman of Westpac, Ted Evans, has admitted that interest rates would continue to rise independently of the official RBA rate hikes for at least the next five years.
In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, published yesterday, Mr Evans warned that the RBA cash rate was no longer the primary guide for bank interest rate movements.
Other influences are simply that much more important at the moment because of what’s happening globally, that will remain the case for many years to come and may even remain the case forever, Mr Evans added.
Westpac has also written to credit card customers informing them that ‘interest will also apply to interest charges and fees on their credit card accounts’ from June this year, News Limited newspapers reported.
This, along with Mr Evan’s promised hikes, sparked a flurry of fire from Treasurer Wayne Swan who labelled Westpac a 'serial offender’.
This kind of behaviour by Westpac is exactly why people don't like the big banks, Mr Swan said in a statement.
Unfortunately, this bank seems like it's becoming a serial offender when it comes to taking its customers for a ride, the Treasurer added.
The bank claimed it was merely mirroring industry practice by implementing the charges, but Mr Swan said there were no other credit card accounts that charged interest on fees.
In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, published yesterday, Mr Evans warned that the RBA cash rate was no longer the primary guide for bank interest rate movements.
Other influences are simply that much more important at the moment because of what’s happening globally, that will remain the case for many years to come and may even remain the case forever, Mr Evans added.
Westpac has also written to credit card customers informing them that ‘interest will also apply to interest charges and fees on their credit card accounts’ from June this year, News Limited newspapers reported.
This, along with Mr Evan’s promised hikes, sparked a flurry of fire from Treasurer Wayne Swan who labelled Westpac a 'serial offender’.
This kind of behaviour by Westpac is exactly why people don't like the big banks, Mr Swan said in a statement.
Unfortunately, this bank seems like it's becoming a serial offender when it comes to taking its customers for a ride, the Treasurer added.
The bank claimed it was merely mirroring industry practice by implementing the charges, but Mr Swan said there were no other credit card accounts that charged interest on fees.
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