Rates could be on the move as a result of global credit crunch

Total personal lending and credit card debt rose by 13.2 per cent over the past year to $151 billion. Some credit card and fixed loan rates have already headed north and the big banks issued warnings over the closing months of 2007 that there would be more to come.

Markets are also tipping that there is a strong possibility of an increase in the official cash rate when the Reserve banks meets again at the beginning of February. With Bendigo Bank's variable home loan rate already at 8.60 per cent compared with a standard rate of 8.57 per cent it will pay for consumers to shop around for the best rates.