ANZ January 2012 Interest Rate Review
ANZ today announced variable interest rates for retail mortgages and small business lending will remain unchanged after its January interest rate review.
ANZ’s monthly review follows a statement in December 2011 that it would announce any changes to variable mortgage rates for retail mortgages and small business lending on the second Friday of each month.
ANZ CEO Australia Philip Chronican said: “By reviewing key variable lending rates each month we can more accurately reflect the sustained changes in funding costs we incur through the interest we pay to customers for their deposits and to investors in wholesale money markets.
“It helps us to contribute to an informed debate about how we fund our customers’ loans and the effects of the continuing global financial crisis on Australia, particularly the significant economic instability which currently exists in Europe.
“We want the process of setting interest rates for our customers to be simple and transparent. This includes a promise to work hard to maintain competitive interest rates that will not disadvantage customers over the term of their loan.
“To increase certainty for our customers the effective date for any variable interest rate changes made as part of the monthly review process will now be one week after the announcement, regardless of whether interest rates are going up or down.
“In coming to our decision this month we wanted to be clear that these higher interest rates we are now paying our depositors and the elevated prices we are required to pay for wholesale funds are going to be sustained given the volatility we saw late last year.
“We also assessed our competitive position, the subdued state of credit demand and the overall state of the economy and decided it was prudent to maintain our current rates at this time,” Mr Chronican said.
Information on the criteria used to determine interest rates and details on our funding costs are attached below.