Well, we knew it was coming.
As home loan rate watchers rejoice in increasing speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut the cash rate as early as the second half of 2024, its likely many depositors mourn.
Rabobank is among the first market leading savings account providers to make waves amid anticipation of falling rates.
It has dropped the rates offered on its PremiumSaver and Notice Saver products.
Though, the introductory rate promised on its High Interest Savings Account (HISA) product – a still-unbeaten 5.75% p.a. – is safe for now, and remains available to everyday depositors and self-managed super funds (SMSFs).
Rabobank’s new savings account interest rates
The agriculturally-focused co-operative now offers depositors a still-competitive, ongoing top rate of 5.00% p.a. on its PremiumSaver product – 10 basis points lower than that promised previously.
That rate includes a 2.50% variable base rate and a 2.50% bonus rate.
The bonus rate is available to savers who grow their balance by at least $200 each month and whose balances doesn’t exceed $250,000.
Simultaneously, the rates on its Notice Saver product, which sees funds locked away for periods of 31, 60, or 90 days, have been slashed by 25 basis points.
The updated rates for Notice Savers (for balances of under $250,000) are:
Notice period | New rate (p.a.) | Previous rate (p.a.) |
31 days | 4.90% | 5.15% |
60 days | 4.95% | 5.20% |
90 days | 5.00% | 5.25% |
Rabobank brought good news for term deposit enthusiasts, however.
It hiked the interest rates on many of its term deposit products by as much as 20 basis points this week.
“We have made some changes to our term deposit pricing to reflect movements in the yield curve, which has resulted in increases to our three month, six month, nine month and five year rates,” Rabobank head of online savings Julie Blanchard told Savings.com.au.
The yield curve reflects various bond returns and is often used to make predictions about future interest rate changes and economic activity.
“We have also adjusted some of our at-call variable products following significant changes across the market and further holds from the Reserve Bank of Australia,” Ms Blanchard said.
Other banks make savings account interest rate moves in March
Rabobank isn’t alone in cutting savings account rates lately.
Teachers Mutual Bank Group, which includes brands Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank, cut the ongoing rate on its once-near-market leading Target (NYSE:TGT) Saver account earlier this month.
The rate was dropped from 5.50% p.a. to 5.25% p.a., according to the InfoChoice database.
As of Thursday it also closed the account to new customers. This also applies to subsidiaries Firefighters Mutual, Health Professionals, UniBank, and Hiver.
Meanwhile, ING launched a new introductory rate on its Savings Accelerator account (no, not its Savings Maximiser account) last week.
"Rabobank slashes select savings account interest rates" was originally published on Savings.com.au and was republished with permission.