Three of the big four banks pass on cut

Three of the big four banks have been quick to pass on the RBA's interest rate cut.

Commonwealth Bank signage

Three of the big four banks have been quick to pass on the Reserve Bank's interest rate cut. (AAP)

Three of the big four banks have announced they will pass on the Reserve Bank's interest rate cut.

Late on Tuesday, Australia's biggest lender, the Commonwealth Bank announced it would cut its standard variable home rate by 25 basis points to 5.35 per cent, effective from May 20.

Minutes earlier, Westpac said it would cut its standard variable rate, also by 25 basis points, to 5.43 per cent, from May 23.

But the National Australia Bank was the first cab off the rank, announcing it would cut its variable mortgage rates by 0.25 percentage points, to 5.35 per cent.

That cut, effective from May 16, will trim about $47 from the average monthly repayment on a 30-year $300,000 mortgage.

The banks' cuts follow the Reserve Bank of Australia's announcement at 1430 AEST on Tuesday that it would cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points to a fresh record low of 1.75 per cent.

The central bank said the move was aimed at pushing the nation's sluggish inflation rate into its two to three per cent target band.

The fourth of the big four banks, the ANZ bank, is yet to make an announcement on any interest rate cut.

ANZ on Tuesday announced it would cut its dividend for the first time since the global financial crisis after its first-half profit slumped by nearly a quarter.

Cash profit for the six months to March 31 dropped 24.3 per cent to $2.782 billion - its lowest since 2010.


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Source: AAP


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