NAB offers $1000 cash to secure new borrowers
The National Australia Bank has offered home owners $1000 if they switch mortgages from rival banks amid renewed aggressive competition between the banks.
NAB announced the cash offer as part of its “spring” assault on the home loan market.
The ''More Give Mortgages'' move follows the Reserve Bank of Australia cutting the official interest rates to a record low 2.5 per cent last week.
Westpac Banking Corp cut its home loan rates by more than the RBA last week in an bid to lure more borrowers, but remains the dearest lender.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has offered to beat the fixed-interest rates of all major banks as part of its pitch to win over home buyers.
The NAB offer is available until September 30. The NAB will also waive its typical $600 application fee.
NAB has the equal lowest standard variable home loan rate of the big four banks, at 5.88% along with the Australia and New Zealand Banking group.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a 5.9% variable rate while Westpac’s rate is 5.98%.
The big four banks control almost 85% of the $1.17 trillion home loan market.
The NAB campaign has been likened to its “Breaking Up” Valentine Day 2011 marketing campaign which resulted in picking up market share by undercutting them on interest rates and offered new customers $700 to switch from rival banks.
In a note to staff, the NAB's group executive for personal banking, Gavin Slater, said the new offer would build on the bank's four-year long offering of the lowest standard variable rate.
"This is a deliberately aggressive and market-leading offer by NAB to win customers from our rivals and drive competition," Mr Slater told senior executives in a memo republished by News Ltd papers.
"Spring is our key home loan season and this campaign, and these offers, area great opportunity for NAB to win more market share from our competitors, close out a strong year and build momentum into financial year 2014."
NAB is hoping the campaign will lift its 17% of the market which is reflected in its $197 billion home loan book.
