Here's how Macquarie Bank has responded to the RBA's cash rate hike

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Macquarie Bank has responded to this week’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate hike by raising interest rates on its variable home loans, following Westpac, the first major bank to do so. Here’s what it has announced, and what it could mean for home loan customers.

At its monthly meeting this week, the RBA raised the cash rate by 50 basis points to 0.85%. This is the second cash rate hike in as many months from Australia’s central bank, and the largest in 22 years, with the size of the hike taking many experts by surprise.

Typically, when the RBA announces a rise in the cash rate, banks and other home loan lenders pass this on to customers in the form of interest rate rises. Canstar is keeping track of which banks and lenders announce rate hikes, with Macquarie Bank among those to have done so.

Readers, take note that home loan rate changes are often expressed in terms of ‘basis points’ – if you’d like to know more, you can read our explainer to find out about how basis points work.

Macquarie Bank home loan interest rate increase

In the wake of the RBA’s cash rate decision, Macquarie Bank has said that it will increase its variable home loan interest rates by 50 basis points, with the change effective from 17 June 2022, so we crunched the numbers to find out how this could affect customers.

The table below shows Macquarie Bank’s current lowest variable home loan interest rate for a homeowner with a 20% deposit, along with the increase announced this week and when this increase will come into effect. It also shows what this rate change could mean for your monthly home loan repayments, and how much repayments have changed since the end of April, before the RBA’s initial cash rate hike last month.

Note that these calculations are based on a hypothetical owner-occupier home loan of $500,000 with an 80% loan-to-value ratio (LVR). Our calculations are based on the presumption of a 30-year home loan, with monthly principal and interest repayments, using the lowest available variable rate from the lender in question.

	Lowest variable interest rate (7 June 2022)	Increase announced	Effective from	Increase to monthly repayments	Change to monthly repayments since April
Macquarie Bank	2.49%	50 basis points	17 June	$132	$196

Source: www.canstar.com.au, 8/6/2022. Current lowest rate based on owner-occupier variable rates available before the June cash rate increase, for a loan amount of $500,000 at 80% LVR and with principal & interest repayments. Monthly repayment calculations are based on a $500,000 loan repaid over 30 years using principal & interest repayments, excluding fees and assuming rates remain the same following the already-announced rate increase. Lowest rate based on the lowest interest rate available before the June 2022 cash rate increase, from products that were also available before the May 2022 increase. Rates based on those available for new customers. Comparison rates are calculated based on a loan amount of $150,000 and a loan term of 25 years. Read the Comparison Rate Warning.

Macquarie Bank savings and transaction account rate increases

Macquarie will increase the interest rates on its transaction accounts to match its ongoing savings account rates. Customers will be able to earn 1.50% on their transaction accounts on balances up to $250,000, which Macquarie says is more than 145 basis points above the industry average for transaction accounts.

Macquarie’s savings account base rate will also be bumped up to 1.50% for balances up to $250,000, an increase of 50 basis points. Both rate changes will come into effect on 17 June 2022.

As an example, customers with $10,000 in their transaction account or savings account stand to earn $12.50 a month in interest with the ongoing 1.50% interest rate. The savings account currently also offers new customers a ‘welcome rate’ totalling 1.80% for the first four months on balances up to $250,000.