No rate rise: Westpac
Making headlines today, Westpac says it has no intention of lifting its lending rates out of sync with Reserve Bank movements, news that will be welcomed by borrowers with Westpac mortgages.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Westpac CEO Gail Kelly said the bank was currently “comfortable” with its home loan rates in spite of the increasingly challenging lending environment.
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Ms Kelly’s comments came as Westpac handed down its third quarter results, with the bank announcing cash earnings of $1.4 billion for the quarter.
Despite this, Ms Kelly commented that funding costs were growing and the operating environment remained challenging.
“The Australian economy is robust but conditions in Europe and signs of slowing growth in the US continue to create global uncertainty,” she said.
“In these circumstances we believe it is prudent to maintain our very strong capital levels and provisioning coverage.”
According to the daily Westpac’s net interest margin has contracted to 2.17 per cent, down from 2.19 per cent in the March quarter and 2.4 per cent one year ago.
