Big Four hike rates

Mortgage holder pain

ALL four of the biggest banks have now passed on interest rate hikes to mortgage holders, with Commonwealth Bank the latest to join.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the ninth consecutive rate rise two days ago bringing interest rates up by 25 basis points.

The Commonwealth Bank joined Westpac in announcing they would pass on the rate rise to their customers just before midday on Thursday.

ANZ and NAB already passed the rate rises the day earlier.

The latest rate rise brings the official cash rate to 3.35 per cent per annum.

The rates news will sting mortgage holders who are already been feeling the pinch as cost of living pressures force them to tighten the purse strings.

Home loan variable interest rate hikes will take effect on February 17.

CBA will also increase the interest rates across a number of its savings products by up to 0.75 per cent per annum.

“We want any customer who would like to talk about their individual situation to message us in the Comm Bank app to explore different support options with one of our specialists,” Retail Banking Group Executive Angus Sullivan said.

“Starting that conversation early can help alleviate concerns and allow us to work together to find solutions.”

NAB said it was not passing on a rate increase to savings customers at this stage, but the ANZ is giving ANZ Plus Save account holders a .25 per cent lift to 4 per cent.

Governor Philip Lowe acknowledged some households were beginning to feel a “painful squeeze” on their budgets and warned there are major clouds of uncertainty around the future of Australia’s economy.

In a statement, Dr Lowe warned there were a “range of potential scenarios” for the Australian economy, including how hard and when the full impact of the nine rate rises would hit families.