Oct 4 (Reuters) - Australia's 'Big Four' lenders -
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank
, Westpac Banking Corp and Australia and New
Zealand Banking Group - will raise home loan rates by
0.25% per annum, the lenders said on Tuesday.
The move is in sync with the country's central bank, which
earlier in the day raised its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis
points. Australian banks have so far followed the steps of the
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in raising borrowing costs.
Bank shares rose after the latest hike by the RBA, which was
softer than the 50 basis point increase predicted by a Reuters
poll. The central bank said it slowed the pace of monetary
tightening as it has already raised rates substantially.
The financial index closed 4.2% higher, marking its
best day since June 2020.
The new rates by CBA, ANZ and NAB will come into effect from
Oct. 14, while Westpac's rates will be effective Oct. 18.
Westpac, ANZ and CBA also raised interest rates on some of
their deposit products, while NAB said its savings and term
deposit rates were "continually under review".
(Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Uttaresh.V and Arun Koyyur)