Westpac, NAB raise fixed rates
Tuesday June 16, 2009, 11:25 am
Westpac and the National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB.ax) have defied the advice of the Federal Government, by increasing their fixed home loan interest rates.
Westpac's one-year fixed term mortgage rate has gone from 5.39 per cent to 5.49 per cent.
The bank's three, four and five-year fixed term home loan rates have also gone up by half a percentage point.
NAB has raised the interest on its two to five-year fixed term loans by between 15 and 40 basis points.
Interest rate strategist at JP Morgan, Sally Auld, says mortgage rates appear to have bottomed out.
"In terms of commercial lending rates for households and businesses, we're likely to be pretty close to the trough," she said.
Last week the Federal Government slammed the Commonwealth Bank for raising its standard variable mortgage rate to 5.74 per cent.
The CBA also confirmed that some home loans with fixed interest rates will rise by 0.1 percentage points from 5.13 to 5.23 per cent.
Both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan have implored other banks not to follow suit.
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