Borrowers should use relief in mortgage rates to pay down debt
Remarkably high interest rates on savings accounts could end thanks to the Reserve Bank of Australia's ruling to put the cash rate on hold for the second straight month, an analyst has warned.
Damian Smith, the CEO of financial comparison website RateCity, said borrowers should use the relief in mortgage rates to pay down debt.
According to him, the central bank's decision last Tuesday to leave the cash rate at 4.5 per cent suggests savers will not see significant increase in the deposit rates.
''Cash investments, such as term deposits and online savings accounts, should continue to offer attractive interest rates for savers, due to ongoing competition for deposits by financial institutions,'' he said.
''However, while the cash rate remains on hold, it's unlikely we'll see significant growth in the rates offered to savers.''
The RBA increased the cash rate six times between October last year and May.
As it took the rate from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent in that time, the average interest offered by the major banks on a $10,000 savings account climbed from 1.90 per cent in September last year to 3.65 per cent in May.
It was at the same rate last month.
Meanwhile, commercial banks answered by increasing their variable mortgage rates, adding about $300 to the monthly repayments of a $300,000 loan.
According to central bank data, the interest on an average variable mortgage rate was 7.40 per cent in June, compared to 5.80 in September 2009.
Mr Smith advised borrowers should be more scrupulous with taking on too much debt during the rate relief as consumers become careless and over-borrow.