Savings rates keep falling with NAB & ING the latest to cut

Savings rates continue to tumble, despite no move to the cash rate, with NAB the latest of the big four banks to cut its rates on Thursday by up to 0.10 per cent.

Australia’s fifth largest bank, ING, also dropped the maximum rate on its Savings Maximiser account today, while CBA cut the bonus rate on its GoalSaver earlier in the week for balances over $50,000.

Recent cuts:

NAB iSaver: introductory rate cut by 0.10% to 0.95% (first 4 mths). Ongoing rate unchanged at 0.05%.

NAB Reward Saver: bonus rate cut by 0.10%. Max rate is now 0.90%.

ING Savings Maximiser: max rate cut by 0.15%. Max rate is now 1.65%.

CBA GoalSaver: max rate cut by 0.05% for balances over $50K.

Analysis of the RateCity.com.au database shows that 64 per cent of banks have cut at least one savings rate in the last two months, despite no move to the cash rate since March.

RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall said banks will continue to chip away at deposit rates to help balance their books.

“Banks are feeling the heat at the other end of the equation where there is immense pressure to put competitive home loan rates on the table,” she said.

“There’s little competition between the banks for deposits right now. As a result, banks can chip away at these rates, often without too much blowback.

“The exception here is Westpac. It’s offering 3 per cent on balances of up to $30,000 for anyone aged between 18 and 29.

“This is a remarkable offer from Westpac given the current environment. There’s daylight between this rate of 3 per cent and what’s on offer from its big four competitors,” she said.