BOQ Lifts Variable Home Loan Interest Rates

Thursday, 07/04/2016

BOQ today announced it will increase interest rates on its variable home loan products by 0.12 per cent per annum for owner-occupiers and 0.25 per cent per annum for investors. 

The increase will see the Bank’s Clear Path variable rate home loan lift to 4.72% per annum for owner-occupiers and 5.14% per annum for investors. The standard variable rate home loan will move to 5.86% per annum for owner-occupiers and 6.28% per annum for investors.  

CEO Jon Sutton said the changes were driven by the need to balance growth, risk and margins over the longer term. 

“This is not a decision that was made lightly and we were very mindful of the impact on our customers even in an environment where interest rates remain at very low levels,” he said. 

 “However, given the fiercely competitive market and increased funding spreads and hedging costs, these increases are necessary to help us achieve the appropriate balance between growth, asset quality and profitability,” he said 

“We still retain very competitive products and pricing, particularly with our lead mortgage product Clear Path, which will enable us to continue to compete strongly in the segments we want to target. 

“Clear Path is a full-featured, low-fee product which, after these changes, still offers one of the best comparison rates in the market to our customers.” 

The new rates will be effective from 15 April 2016.