Interest Rate Rises and the Big Four Banks
In the news recently has been the talk about Interest Rates and the Banks. I know that it seems that the banks are always popping up as a hot topic and it seems for good reason. Last week the Reserve Bank lifted Interest Rates by 0.25 points and guess what, the Commonwealth Bank decided to almost double its rate!
So many questions come to mind, the most common seems to be how can the banks continue to raise interest rates above the Reserve Bank’s rate; when they are continuing to make billion dollar profits? The Big 4 Banks continue to neglect good old fashioned customer service by closing branches and making us wait while on the phone, sacking workers and raising charges, yet we as a community continue to accept it!
The Commonwealth Bank won’t be the only bank to raise interest rates in the next few weeks, all the banks will likely follow. They are sitting back looking at the communities reaction to the situation and will pounce when we least expect it! The banks are always quick to raise interest rates and by large percentages, they raise the credit card rates at the same time, even though these are ridiculously high. Can you remember the last time banks dropped interest rates so quickly from the Reserve Banks adjustments?
The other key fact here is the current economic climate; wasn’t it only a year or so ago when the Federal Government declared that it would guarantee each deposit and buy the Banks out if they fell into trouble! Isn’t it still offering this support? So what gives the banks the right to kick the Federal Government and the Reserve Bank in the guts when it was these same bodies who have been supporting them through some of our toughest times in recent history.
The Banks are not silly. They realise that customers will need to walk away before they change their spots, and guess what, people will not! Why? A mixture of factors, but the main ones seem to be lack of knowledge of just how much they can save and simple laziness. That’s right, people just can’t find the time to worry about trivial matters like this.
My suggestion to you is to keep the pressure on the Banks. Get free advice from an independent mortgage broker, check out a smaller regional or community bank or a credit union. You will be surprised just how much you could be saving on your mortgage and credit card repayments every month.
Article written by Disheartened Dave.
Tags: banks, interest rate increase, Interest Rate Rises, interest rates
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