All big four banks pass on the rate rise: about 79 dollars more a month on a 500,000 dollar mortgage

Australia's big four banks announced on November 4 that they would lift variable home loan rates by 0.25 percentage points, passing on the Reserve Bank of Australia's November 3 increase in the cash rate to an 18-year high of 4.85 percent. Westpac, NAB, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank set November 13 as the start date. Macquarie Bank had announced its rise first, within an hour of the November 3 central bank decision, with its higher rate taking effect on November 19.

ANZ said a 0.25 percentage point increase to variable home loan rates will add approximately 79 dollars to the monthly repayments on a 500,000 dollar owner-occupier loan with principal and interest repayments. Westpac's chief executive of consumer banking, Carolyn McCann, said the majority of its customers were ahead on their mortgage repayments, and all of the banks said customers under financial strain should contact their bank as soon as possible.

Slower gains for savers

Savers with money in the right accounts will earn more interest when the banks lift their rates in the middle of the month, but lenders have been slower to pass rate rises on to savers and often require customers to meet a number of conditions before they can unlock the highest rates on offer. Comparison site data shows that when conditions such as monthly minimum deposits or withdrawal rules are not met, customers can revert to a base rate of around 0.10 per cent.