National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank follow ANZ in passing on full interest rate cut

National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the big four banks in Australia, announced on Thursday it would pass on the full 25-basis-point central bank rate cut to its customers. The bank said it would reduce its standard variable home loan rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7.22 percent from December 16, making it the lowest rate among the big four banks. The NAB said its variable business loan rate would also be cut by 25 basis points, effective on December 19. Earlier on Thursday, the ANZ Bank was the first of the big four banks to announce that they will slice their standard variable home loan and business loan rates by 25 basis points from December 16, taking its standard variable rate to 7.3 percent. The ANZ said it would pass on the full reduction to its customers after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut official cash rate by 0.25 percentage points on Tuesday. NAB Personal Banking Group Executive Lisa Gray said the bank had offered the lowest standard variable home loan rate among the major banks for over two years. "We remain concerned about rising funding costs and will continue to monitor developments overseas," she said. Later on Thursday, the Commonwealth Bank, Australia's largest bank, said it would cut its mortgage rates by 25 basis points, in line with the Reserve Bank's decision.