BankWest lowers rates by 85bps

Wednesday, 3 December, 2008 - 13:29

BankWest has held back on a full rate cut, with the Perth-headquartered lender cutting its standard variable rate by 85 basis points.

A BankWest spokesperson told WA Business News the bank's variable rate will be reduced to 6.8 per cent, effective December 12.

The bank will also reduce its Rate Tracker home loan by 91 basis points to 5.82 per cent, effective December 17.

The move follows the Reserve Bank's rate cut of 100 basis points yesterday, reducing the official cash rate to 4.25 per cent.

The Commonwealth Bank and the National Australia Bank are the only two major lenders to pass on the full rate cut, while ANZ has passed on a cut of 83bps while Westpac reduced its rates by 80bps.