Another cash rate hike announced: Which banks are increasing savings rates?

Interest rates for many savers are increasing this month following the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s decision to increase the cash rate yet again. Canstar rounds up which banks have announced changes to deposit rates for savers.

The RBA raised the official cash rate by another 25 basis points at its October Board meeting, taking the rate to 2.60%. While borrowers are facing steep increases in variable home loan repayments, many savers have seen increases to the amount of interest they earn each month. But the increases for savers have been less predictable, with some banks only passing on part of the cash rate increases or only passing it on to some of their deposit accounts.

Below we round up the banks that have announced changes to their deposit rates so far following the October cash rate increase.

Which banks have increased their savings rates?

We’ll be updating this article as the changes come through from the major banks and other institutions.

Interestingly, the first announcement by a major bank was NAB, stating there would be no changes to its savings rates following this latest cash rate increase. Instead it said that its savings and term deposit rates are “continually under review”. However, that did not set an overall trend, as other banks have announced rate changes.

Here are the latest banks to do so:

ANZ

ANZ will increase the rate on the ANZ Plus Save account by 0.25%pa to 3.25%pa for balances less than $250,000, effective from Wednesday 12 October 2022.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has announced it will increase the rate on its Reward Saver deposit products by 0.25% p.a. as of 26 October 2022.

CommBank

Following the October cash rate increase by the RBA, CommBank announced changes to some of its deposit products, as follows:

• Its NetBank Saver standard variable interest rate will increase by 0.25% p.a. to 1.10% p.a. The five-month introductory variable rate will increase by 0.70% p.a. to 3.00% p.a., effective 14 October.
• The GoalSaver with bonus interest rate will increase by 0.30% p.a. to 2.40% p.a., effective 14 October 2022.
• Youthsaver with bonus interest rate will increase by 0.30% p.a. to 2.60% p.a., effective 14 October 2022.
• Some of CommBank’s term deposit interest rates will also be increased, including its 12-month term deposit which will be raised by 1.35% to 3.35% p.a. Its 18-month term deposit special will increase to 3.70% p.a. These new term deposit rates will be effective from 10 October 2022.

ING

ING announced its Savings Maximiser and Savings Accelerator interest rates will change, effective 11 October 2022.

• It said the additional variable rate for Savings Maximiser for new and existing customers who meet the monthly eligibility criteria will increase to 3.50% p.a. (previously 3.05%), meaning the highest variable rate available on the Saving Maximiser (inclusive of both the standard variable rate and the additional variable rate) will change to 4.05% p.a. (previously 3.60%) for eligible customers. The standard variable rate will not change.
• On its Savings Accelerator account, the standard variable rate will change to 2.80% p.a. (previously 2.60% p.a.) on balances above $150k will; to 2.60% p.a. (previously 2.40% p.a.) on balances above $50k up to $150k; and to 1.70% p.a. (previously 1.50% p.a.) on balances below $50k.

Macquarie Bank

Macquarie Bank announced it will increase interest rates across a range of deposit products by up to 0.45% p.a. The increases to savings rates include:

• Its savings account welcome rate will increase 0.30% to 4.00% p.a. for new customers, for the first four months on balances up to $250,000, effective 6 October 2022.
• The ongoing interest rate on savings and everyday transaction accounts will increase 0.45% to 3.20% p.a., on balances up to $250,000, effective 14 October 2022.

ubank

NAB subsidiary, ubank, announced that it will increase the bonus interest rate on its Save account from 3.25% p.a. to 3.50% p.a., effective 1 November 2022. This will mean customers can earn up to 3.60% p.a. in total on Save accounts, the provider says.

Westpac

The major bank announced the following deposit rate changes, which will be effective from 18 October 2022:

• Westpac Life total variable rate with bonus interest will increase by 0.25% p.a. to 2.60% p.a.
• Under Westpac’s Spend&Save offer for 18-29 year olds, eligible customers can earn a total variable rate of 3.75% p.a., an increase of 0.25% p.a.
• Westpac eSaver total variable rate will increase by 0.25% p.a. to 2.55% p.a. for new customers for the first five months.

What are the top savings and term deposits rates currently on offer?

BOQ and Macquarie Bank currently have the joint top savings rate on Canstar’s database at up to 4.00% p.a.

For BOQ, its ‘Future Saver 14-35 yrs old’ account offers this top rate. But as the name of the account suggests, this rate is only available for savers aged between 14 and 35. Other eligibility criteria apply if savers are to earn the bonus rate of interest, which currently accounts for 3.95% p.a. of the total top rate of interest on offer.

For accounts available to savers of all ages Macquarie Bank currently offers the top savings rate on Canstar’s database, also at 4.00% p.a. However, this is an introductory rate available for four months only, after which the base rate of 2.75% p.a. applies.

These savings rates are based on a hypothetical deposit amount of $10,000.

If you’re happy to lock away your savings, you could consider a term deposit. Judo Bank currently offers the top rate on the database at 4.85% p.a. on its Personal Term Deposit (with interest paid at the end of the term) but savers would need to lock their money away for five years to get that rate. For a shorter term of 24 months Judo Bank’s interest rate of 4.45% p.a. (again with interest paid at the end of the term) is the highest available on Canstar’s database at the time of writing. On a 12-month term, Judo Bank’s rate of 3.90% p.a. (with interest paid at the end of the term/annually) is the highest.

The term deposit rates quoted are based on a deposit amount of $100,000.

Cover image source: Canstar.