Commonwealth Bank bumps up short term NetBank Saver rate

In a rare win for savers, the Commonwealth Bank has today hiked the introductory rate on its NetBank Saver account by 4 basis points from 2.51% to 2.55% and extended the introductory period on the offer from three to five months.

The NetBank Saver now joins NAB’s iSaver account as having the joint highest introductory savings account rate among Australia’s big four banks, though NAB’s offer only applies to the first four months from the account opening.

Big Four Introductory Rate Offers

     • 2.55% - Commonwealth Bank NetBank Saver bonus rate for first five months

     • 2.55% - NAB iSaver bonus rate for first four months

     • 2.51% - Westpac eSaver bonus rate for first five months

     • 2.30% - ANZ Online Saver bonus rate for first three months

However, while the rate hike may be appealing to savers looking for a short term savings boost with one of the major banks, the new Commonwealth Bank deal still falls short of some of the other introductory rates currently in the Mozo database.

In fact, the Netbank Saver rate of 2.55% remains 55 basis points below the HSBC Serious Saver account’s 3.10% introductory rate offer for the first four months - currently* the highest offer in the Mozo database.

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While ongoing savings account interest rates may have plotted a steady trend of decline over recent years, the Commonwealth Bank joins a number of lenders that have targeted savers in the past few months by lifting introductory bonus rate offers.

“Competition for deposits has been increasing over recent months as banks seek to diversify their funding sources in response to the higher cost of obtaining funds from markets,” said Mozo Product Data Manager, Peter Marshall.

“One of the ways banks have been doing this is by raising short-term introductory rates, although the move from the Commonwealth Bank is also likely to be about bringing their own rate more into line with NAB and Westpac's offers.”

Marshall also noted that while savings accounts with introductory rates may be an alluring prospect given that they generally don’t come with any conditions attached, there are other features worth taking into consideration.    

“If you’re not in a position to make a regular deposit every month or any of the other requirements you’d need to fulfill in order to grab an ongoing bonus rate, an account with an introductory offer could be ideal,” he said.

“Just make sure you keep note of when that intro period ends so you can switch to another offer, otherwise you’ll end up earning a base rate which is generally much lower. For example, once the 2.55% introductory offer on the NetBank Saver ends the 0.50% base rate comes into play.”    

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Does your own savings account need an interest rate upgrade? Check out some of the savings account offers below.

*Accurate as of 22 November, 2018.