To no one’s surprise, the RBA board, after meeting for the second time this year, decided to sit on its hands, leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%. 

Albeit a subtle shift in its tightening bias, the Board’s post-meeting announcement pretty much echoed last month’s statement, highlighting that it’s too soon to rule “anything” (aka the watered-down term for rate cuts and rate hikes) in or out. 

RBA Governor Michele Bullock has made it clear in her previous outings that “greater confidence” about inflation is needed before the Board considers a potential rate cut. 

Despite inflation falling faster than expected and other data flows falling within forecasts, the central bank remains highly uncertain.

For the RBA, the inflation dragon is yet to be slayed.

“We’re making progress against our fight against inflation, but it does remain high,” Governor Bullock said when she faced the press on Tuesday. 

“Recent data suggests we’re on the right track but the interest rate path that ensures we bring inflation back to target does remain uncertain,” she added, signalling no relief for borrowers just yet.

And with the unexpected drop in the unemployment rate in February, an early rate cut may be all the more unlikely. 

As we await more reliable datasets in the next couple of months, home loan borrowers may have to settle in at the edge of their seats while lenders try to outguess RBA’s next move or mimic its wait-and-see approach.

Here are the few lenders we saw move rates during this rather quiet week.

Horizon Bank goes wide with rate cuts

Customer-owned Horizon Bank applied widespread cuts on its fixed and variable rate home loan products. 

The bank slashed 15 points across its introductory variable rate offerings for new customers of its owner-occupied and investment mortgages, leaving its most competitive rate at 6.09% p.a. 

Meanwhile, a much larger 25 basis points worth of cut was applied across its fixed rate products, bringing almost all of its owner-occupied home loans down to start with a 5.

Here are the new rates of Horizon Bank’s mortgages for residents:

And for investors: 

Credit Union SA lowers special offer investment mortgages

The South Australian financial institution decided to only drop the rates on its special offer variable investment home loans this week. 

Credit Union SA’s Investment Variable Home Loan Package, P&I now offers 6.29% p.a. rate (6.66% p.a. comparison rate*) after its rate was slashed 10 bps. 

The Investment Variable Home Loan Package, IO, offers 6.49% p.a. (6.88% p.a. comparison rate*) to customers following a 25 bps cut on its advertised rate.

The bank’s special investment home loans come with offset accounts and unlimited repayment options. 

Variable rate goes up 

Two days after the RBA announced its rate hold, Sydney-based Gateway Bank hiked its variable rate home loans by 16 basis points. 

Gateway Bank’s current top rate on offer is 6.15% p.a. (6.43% p.a. comparison rate*) accessible through its variable Premium Package Home Loan with a max LVR of 75%.

Read more: RBA Home Loans News

Bernadette Lunas

Finance Journalist

Bernadette is a journalist with years of experience covering topics in macroeconomics, real estate, and lifestyle beats for notable print media organisations. She joined the InfoChoice Group in 2024, bringing her passion for writing stories that help Australians make better decisions about money.

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