TWO OF BIG 4 PASS ON FULL RATE HIKE

NATIONAL Australia Bank has jumped in first to announce they’re passing on the full rate rise announced at Tuesday’s monthly Reserve Bank board meeting.

RBA governors decided to raise the official cash rate a further 25 basis points, to 3.6 per cent for March, in a widely tipped move.

In a statement on Thursday, NAB announced its standard variable home loan interest rate would increase by 0.25 per cent per year, effective from March 17.

It’s also increasing the rates on its NAB Reward Saver bonus and NAB iSaver introductory and standard variable rates by the same amount.

And NAB Term Deposits will increase by up to 1.1 per cent across a range of their products.

NAB Executive Rachel Slade said rising costs means many Australians may be experiencing financial hardship for the first time.

“Our support is designed to get our customers through the tough times, and we know that when our customers reach out to our NAB Assist team early for help, more than 95 per cent of them are back on their feet financially within three months,” said Ms Slade.

Shortly after NAB’s announcement, Westpac also passed on the 0.25 per cent rate rise on home loans, as well as on their Westpac Life total variable rate, and their Westpac eSaver total variable rate by the same amount for new customers for the first five months.

“We know some might be feeling uneasy amid growing cost of living pressures,” said Westpac CEO Chris de Bruin, “if customers are concerned, we encourage them to give us a call.

Other banks are yet to announce their own rates decisions.