BOQ lifts mortgage rates

BOQ today announced it will increase interest rates on its variable home loan products by 0.18 per cent.

The increase will see the bank’s Clear Path variable rate home loan lift to 4.60 per cent and the standard variable rate home loan for owner-occupiers move to 5.74 per cent.

BOQ’s standard variable rate home loan for investors will increase to 6.03 per cent

Matt Baxby, BOQ’s group executive retail banking, said the decision was driven by the need to balance growth, risk and margins over the longer term.

“Standardised banks like BOQ still carry much higher funding costs and capital requirements than the major banks and we need to get the balance right between sustainable growth over the longer term, risk and margins,” Mr Baxby said.

“These are always difficult decisions but on balance we believe it is the right one in the current environment.

“The more resilient and financially strong that standardised banks are, the more we can compete on a range of fronts including further investment in our customer-facing systems and processes.”

The new rates will be effective from 20 November 2015.