ANZ cuts home, business rates

ANZ has trimmed its standard variable home loan and business lending rates by 37 basis points. The decision on Friday came after the bank's board held its monthly meeting to discuss interest rates. The bank's standard variable home loan rate was cut to 7.05 per cent. The move follows the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision on May 1 to cut the cash rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent. None of the big-four retail banks passed on the RBA cut in full, with Westpac, the National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank cutting their rates by less than 50 basis points. ANZ's decision to lower its home and business lending rates came just a month after it lifted both by 0.06 per cent. ANZ on Friday said its decision to lower its rates would save customers with a $280,000 home loan about $20 a week. Small businesses with an average loan of $130,000 stand to save $9.25 a week. ANZ chief executive Australia Philip Chronican said the the RBA's decision to reduce the cash rate had impacted domestic funding sources, giving ANZ the scope to reduce its lending rates. 'We continue to work hard to ensure we are competitive despite sustained funding pressure driven by the high rates we are paying to our 2.9 million deposit customers relative to the Reserve Bank's cash rate and the ongoing volatility in wholesale money markets,' he said. ANZ's shares were eight cents lower at $22.07 at 1515 AEST.