And there is the next domino: CBA

New Home Loan Serviceability Rates effective Monday 22 July 2019

Following a period of consultation, APRA has amended its guidance on the existing requirement for serviceability floor rates and interest rate buffers to maintain prudence in the overall serviceability assessment.

Commonwealth Bank has today announced it will be making important home lending policy changes to its floor rate and interest rate buffer:

  • The CBA floor rate (assessment rate) is decreasing to 5.75% p.a. from 7.25% p.a.

With this latest bank stepping in line, question beckons: What is happening with all the other lenders though? Where is ME bank, where is ING, Citi, Suncorp and the likes? I tried to find out but am getting nowhere… The BDM’s have no info and there seems to be no plans in the short term to make any changes.

In my view this is going to cost all the banks that are not changing the assessment rate as the difference it makes (from checking a few servicing calculators) can be 15% or more…

Interesting times