This week in banking - Apple announces new credit card, but when will it arrive in Australia?

Missed out on all that’s been happening in Australian banking lately? We’ve got you covered. Read on for all the biggest news items and rate changes we recorded in the past week.

Best Home Loans Announced

Recently, we announced the winners for the Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards, the result of months of hard work combing through the market in search of the best Australian home loans. This year’s winners include some of the usual faces, plus a few new ones (hello Tic:Toc and Well Home Loans). Below are some standouts, but be sure to check out the full list of winners.

• Home Lender Bank of the Year: Greater Bank
• Online Home Lender Bank of the Year: Tic:Toc
• Best New Home Loan: Well Home Loans
• Best New Feature: loans.com.au

Apple’s foray into finance

Apple aficionados will be excited to hear the tech giant has a new product coming out soon (and no, it’s not a new iPhone). The purveyor of innovative electronics has announced it will be branching out into the world of personal finance, with the first ever Apple credit card set for launch in the US. The bad news: there’s no word yet on when it will be arriving on our shores, so you’ll have to stick with your regular credit cards for now. 

The Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative

A collection of leaders and executives from the Big Four banks, Bank Australia, and a number of other institutions have joined forces to create the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative. News of its formation is welcome, if a bit overdue. After all, similar initiatives have existed across Europe for a while now. Nevertheless, we’re optimistic that it can help reign in some of the Australian finance sector’s more questionable tendencies and put us on track to meeting our sustainability goals. 

Variable Home Loans

Turning to rates, ING made a number of changes across its Mortgage Simplifier and Orange Advantage Package offerings. Principal and interest loans went down by as much as 0.08% for owner occupiers and 0.40% for investors. Meanwhile, Resi increased most rates for its range of Smart Pro home loans by 0.05%.

Fixed Home Loans

ING decreased its 3, 4 and 5 year Fixed Rate Loans by 0.10%. And ME Bank made cuts of between 0.10% and 0.50% to its Flexible Home Loan and the Member Package variant.

Resi reduced 2 and 3 year rates for its Flexi Options Home Loan for owner occupiers, some by as much as 0.35%. If you’re looking to lock in a 3 year fixed term for a loan of $250,000 or more with an 80% LVR, you’ll receive a rate of 3.84% (3.95% comparison rate*). 

Term deposits

Term deposit cuts seemed more numerous this week than usual. ME Bank made a number of cuts across its term deposit rate sheet, mostly in the 0.05% to 0.15% range. AMP and BoQ Specialist made cuts of up to 0.15%, while Macquarie decreased rates for a number of offerings by up to 0.10%.

Greater Bank and The Mutual Bank were less forgiving, slashing term deposits by as much as 0.45%. That said, Greater Bank did increase rates for terms in the 3 year range and above.

If that feels like a lot of changes to wrap your head around, we don’t blame you. If you’re wondering where to go from here, why not start by heading over to our home loan comparison page - it is home loan award season, after all - for an overview of what’s available.

*WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for $150,000 over 25 years.