Ang Westpac ay magtataas ng variable home loan rates ng 0.14 na puntos, simula Setyembre 19, dahilan sa pagtaas ng wholesale funding costs.
Ang central bank ng Australya ay ipinananatili ang official cash rate sa pinakamababang antas na 1.50 porsyento simula pa noong 2016 na nagpahiwatig ng matatag na posisyon.
Noong Miyerkules, nag-anunsyo ang Westpac na itataas nila ang variable mortgage rate para sa owner-occupier properties ng 5.38 porsyento kada taon para sa mga kustomer nito na may principal at interest repayments, habang rate para sa residential investment properties ay tataas ng 5.93 porsyento.
Ang pagtaas ay inaasahan na magkaroon ng karagdagang $400 kada taon sa repayments sa $400,000 mortgage.
Ngunit kailangan na bigyang-katwiran ng bangko ang pagtataas sa mga rates, sabi ni Australian Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg.
“My view is it’s up to the bank to explain to the Australian people why it lifted rates," sinabi niya sa isang pahayag.
"Any financial institution which makes these decisions needs to explain to its customers why.”
Ipinahayag ni Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer na kinailangan ng bangko magdesisyon na magtaas dahilan sa nagpapatuloy na pagtaas ng wholesale funding costs.
"These decisions are always difficult, particularly when you’re impacting the cost of living for people, and we’re very conscious of that," sabi niya.
"We recognise that part of our job is to accept the volatility that comes in financial markets around our funding costs. So when wholesale borrowing costs started rising back in February, we absorbed that and we took the view that hopefully, the elevated costs would go back down. Unfortunately, they haven't and they have continued to rise.
"We've come to the conclusion that what we're looking at is a sustained increase in that key benchmark wholesale funding cost rate."
Sinabi ni Sally Tindall, research director ng financial comparison website na RateCity, na ang Westpac ay naghintay pa nang mas matagal sa inaasahan ng merkado.
“Westpac has today asked their variable rate home loan customers to help ease their cost of funding pressures," sabi niya.
“While banks are entitled to make a profit, some Westpac home loan customers will be disappointed with the bank’s decision to increase their interest rate.
“Most households will be able to absorb the rate hike, however anyone who overstretched to get in the market will feel burdened by this extra cost.
“Now that Westpac has hiked, taking the brunt of the bad PR, we expect the other three banks to follow suit."
