St George saving rates increased following RBA rise

St George has announced it has increased rates on a number of its financial products following Reserve Bank's recent decision to raise the base rate for more than a year.

Last week's Australian banking decision to raise interest rates for the first time in over 18 months has seen one financial services firm increase the rates attached to a number of its products.

As the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked rates 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent last week, St George states that it too has applied such an increase across its saver account portfolio.

With the rise coming into effect today (October 12th), deposit interest rates on the bank's Power Saver, DIY Super Direct Saver and Direct Saver products have all been increased, something that could interest those looking to compare accounts in order to source a competitive rate of return.

Greg Bartlett, chief executive of the bank, states: "Many customers who have deposits with St George will see increased interest on their savings as a result of this announcement. In fact our deposit rates are at one of the highest levels above the official RBA cash rate that I can remember."

Furthermore, St George has also elected to increase rates on its Standard Variable Home Loan - again by 0.25 per cent - up to 6.04 per cent.

With this hike resulting in a rise in customers' monthly repayments, Mr Bartlett points out homeowners are encourage to discuss their Australian banking needs with St George on a regular basis.

In doing so he states people can "ensure they have the right mortgage products to suit their individual circumstances".

However, St George has not been the only lender to increase rates in recent days. The bank's parent company - Westpac - recently announced that it was to put up rates on its credit cards and personal deposit accounts by 0.25 percentage points. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank has also applied such a rise to its NAB iSaver.

Posted by Mark Hornby