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http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22802023-14334,00.html
Commonwealth Bank ready to lift interest ratesBy AAP and staff writers
November 22, 2007 10:36am
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THE Commonwealth Bank is ready to lift interest rates on variable home loans again, saying higher funding costs caused by the US mortgage crisis need to be passed on to customers.
“Obviously our funding costs, like everyone else in the market, have increased significantly,'' CBA head of retail products Michael Cant told analysts at an operational briefing today.
”This will ultimately need to be passed on to customers across the industry in the form of higher rates.''
CBA (cba.ASX uote,News), Australia's biggest home lender, raised rates earlier this month after a rise in official interest rates to 6.75 per cent by the Reserve Bank. The bank lifted its variable lending rates to 8.57 per cent.
Despite record profits, the bank's variable home-loan rate is set to rise again. CBA posted a record cash profit of $4.6 billion for the 12 months to the end of June, up 18 per cent on the 2006 result.
Timing of rate rise unclear
Mr Cant did not specify which CBA products would experience a rate rise.
“I think the only thing we're being non-committal on is quantum and timing and who goes when,'' CBA head of retail products Michael Cant told analysts at an operational briefing.
”But I think it's inevitable given funding costs that we will pass, as will all the other banks, the funding costs on via higher (variable) lending rates.''
CBA said it has already risen rates on its fixed-rate mortgage products.
”Obviously, there is some short-term margin cost that we've been wearing at a group level, but this will ultimately come back as the market passes on the increased funding costs in the form of higher rates,'' Mr Cant said.
NAB set to hike rates
National Australia Bank (nab.ASX uote,News) has said that it intends to increase the interest rate on its variable home loan products beyond moves in the official cash rate.
NAB said on November 9 that the increase was likely to occur in “the next month or two''.
CBA chief executive Ralph Norris said on November 7 that the bank had not decided whether to pass higher funding costs on to its variable home loans.
”Like any business, we have cost inputs and we have to reflect that in our pricing at some point,'' Mr Norris said then. |
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