The four major banks have performed poorly in a new survey undertaken by independent assessor, CANNEX.
WA Home Loans won the title of Australia’s leading home mortgage provider over the past twelve months.
The ranking is calculated using the annual average percentage rates formula (AAPR).
This incorporates the average interest rates as well as the fixed charges associated with the mortgage, thus giving a better indication of the true cost.
The methodology used by CANNEX is the same as used in the Personal Investment Bank of the Year calculations now considered industry standard.
The calculations covered all WA Home Loan’s variable pro-ducts including its Home Truth loan which has Australia’s lowest variable rate of 5.4 per cent while the AAPR or true rate was 5.65 per cent.
Of the four major banks, ANZ fared best in 10th position, followed by Challenge in 14th, Commonwealth in 22nd place and the National Australia Bank came 50th. BankWest was rated 33rd.
The discrepancy between lenders is largely due to fees and charges as the variable interest rates are usually closely aligned.
WA Home Loans is part of the International Finance & Invest-ment group which has over $3 billion under management.
WA Home Loans managing director Tim Holmes said the IF&I group enjoyed unprecedented growth in the past year.
“The group is now lending around $100 million per month, of which around 55 per cent is being lent by WA Home Loans,” Mr Holmes said.
“Borrowers are becoming more discerning when it comes to selecting a home loan.
“They expect more transparency on rates and charges so they can calculate the true cost of a loan. This appears to have damaged the credibility of some bank products,” he said.
