This week in banking - Tic:Toc’s new home loan offer a crowd pleaser

Every Friday, we round up the latest news and changes from the banking world and put them in one handy spot. Read on for what’s been going on in Aussie home loans, travel insurance and more in the past week.

Tic:Toc’s new low deposit home loan offer

Tic:Toc, the 2019 Mozo Experts Choice Online Home Lender of the Year, has given Aussies looking to take their first steps on the property ladder a much-needed boost. This week it announced borrowers taking out a low-cost home loan will be able to do so with as little as a 10% deposit.

And to sweeten the deal, new customers will also get $1,000 cashback upon settlement if they apply by Friday 5 April and are approved by Friday 3 May.

More Aussies jet-setting overseas this Easter

With the Easter long weekend just around the corner, many Australians are giving the road trips and family picnics a miss and setting their sights a little bit higher. According to Allianz, there’s an uptick in overseas travel insurance policies purchased over Easter, with Asian countries topping the list of the most popular destinations.

If you’ve got plans to holiday this Easter, whether it’s around the country or overseas, it’s only sensible to have travel insurance in place. Be sure to check out our travel insurance comparison tool for help finding the right policy.

Is Afterpay ruining your home loan chances?

If you’re applying for a home loan, you can generally expect banks to be pretty strict with their lending criteria. But how likely is it your Afterpay use will get you in banks’ bad books?

Well, it turns out that Afterpay is no different from other living expenses in banks’ eyes, and if it’s not managed responsibly red flags go up.

This goes doubly so if you've linked your credit card to your Afterpay account, which could see your credit score taking a hit if you miss any repayments.

Fixed home loans

There’s been a huge surge in fixed rate cuts in recent months, with at least 24 providers on our database having made at least one cut since March. This week, Commonwealth Bank made some waves by cutting its fixed rate home loan and fixed rate Wealth Package by between 0.10% to 0.30%.

Westpac quickly followed suit, reducing its offerings for owner occupiers by up to 0.20%, effectively bringing its 3, 4 and 5 year packaged options on par with CommBank’s.

Not one to be outdone, Suncorp reduced rates for its 3 year Fixed Home Loan Special Offer by 0.45%. Offerings for owner occupiers and investors now sit at 3.49% p.a. (4.25% p.a. comparison rate*) and 3.69% p.a. (4.52% p.a. comparison rate*), respectively. Both are now the lowest rates in our database for their respective categories.

AMP’s 2 year fixed rate for its Professional Package dropped 0.06%. It now sits at 3.69% p.a. (4.89% p.a. comparison rate*). Endeavor Mutual Bank reduced its 3 year fixed rate by 0.30%, leaving it at 3.69% p.a. (4.12% p.a. comparison rate*).

Finally, Gateway Bank’s 3 year fixed rate Premium Package for investors fell 0.20% to 4.08% p.a. (5.30% p.a. comparison rate*).

Variable home loans

Gateway Bank’s Variable Rate Home Loan (Premium Package) for investors saw some fairly large cuts. If you’re looking to take out a loan of at least $150,000 with an LVR below 80%, you’ll receive a variable rate of 3.97% (4.28% p.a. comparison rate*), down 0.22% from its previous rate. And if you’re paying interest only, you’ll receive a variable rate of 4.17% p.a. (4.47% p.a. comparison rate*), down 0.32%.

Term deposits

St George made several changes across its range of term deposits. Most terms up to 1 year were reduced by 0.10%, while longer terms saw cuts of between 0.15% to 0.30%.

Similarly, AMP reduced rates by between 0.05% and 0.20%, with longer length terms also seeing the largest cuts.

Greater Bank shuffled rates around quite a bit. 3 month rates jumped up to 2.40% from 2.15%, while 1 year rates fell from 2.60% to 2.40%.

Suncorp dropped rates by 0.10% to 0.15%, while Macquarie made cuts across the board, slashing rates by up to 0.15%. Auswide Bank made cuts of between 0.05% and 0.10% to its 1, 3 and 4 year rates.