Home loan interest rate check: How do ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac compare?

Key Points:

• The Big Four Banks in Australia (Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ, and Westpac) lend most home loans in Australia.
• Smaller lenders often have lower home loan interest rates than the Big Four.

If you have a home loan, odds are it’s with one of the Big Four: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, or Westpac. However, these major lenders don’t always offer the cheapest or lowest rates. 

In fact, all four have hiked variable interest rates in response to decisions made by the Reserve Bank of Australia, totalling 4.25% p.a. worth of rises since May 2022.

So if you’re with one of the Big Four, is there an opportunity to save? Here’s how their home loan rates for owner-occupied properties compare to other Australian lenders.

The Reserve Bank aims to curtail inflation by hiking the cash rate. The big banks have followed suit with every rate movement, lifting their standard variable rates for owner-occupiers by 4.25% p.a. since May 2022.

Some of the main trends for early 2024 include:

• Raising or eliminating introductory interest rate discounts for new customers.
• Making small “out-of-cycle” rate adjustments.
• Removing special offers like refinancing cashback.

At the time of writing, these are now the lowest rates on offer from the Big Four.

Lowest variable rates Big Four banks (LVR < 80%) – 13 February 2024^^

While some of these offers from the major banks are undoubtedly competitive, there are currently over 30 lenders in our database with lower rates on comparable loans. 

The table below provides an overview of the cheapest variable rates among lenders we track.

Lowest variable rates Mozo database (LVR < 80%)  – 13 February 2024^^

The average variable rate in the Mozo database (OO, P&I, LVR < 80%) currently sits at 6.84% p.a. – 64 basis points below the average variable rate offered by the four major banks (7.48% p.a.).

So what does this difference actually mean for your budget? As the table below shows, by refinancing from a variable rate of 7.48% p.a. to a lower rate of 5.79% p.a., borrowers could save $400 on their monthly repayments — and $96,002 over the life of their loan.

Variable rates for a $400,000 loan over 20 years — OO, P&I, (LVR < 80%)

Of course, the figures in the table are based on the specific scenario outlined above. You can crunch your own numbers using our mortgage repayments calculator, and even brace for rate hikes with our new rate change calculator.

As for fixed rate loans, lenders have slowly begun pricing down longer terms while shorter terms have risen, especially with the near-term risk of another rate hike in February 2024. 

This ‘lender forecasting’ has again reshuffled the top lenders, with the Big Four averages still ranking noticeably higher than smaller lenders for shorter terms.

Mozo fixed rate averages vs Big Four averages (LVR < 80%)  – 13 February 2024^^

However, there are still fixed-rate home loans on the lower end of the spectrum. Here are some of the sharpest in the Mozo database.

Lowest fixed rates in the Mozo database, OO and P&I (LVR < 80%)  – 13 February 2024^^

Interested in saving money? Start your search for a lower interest rate today by checking out the many loans and lenders featured in our handy refinance comparison table, or cast your eyes over some of the hot offers listed below!

^^Interest rates are based on an owner occupier making principal and interest repayments on a $400,000 loan with an 80% LVR.

Check out our dedicated Australian home loan statistics page for more information on average mortgage rates.