Macquarie Bank the latest to hike fixed home loan rates

Macquarie Bank has upped fixed rates on offer to borrowers by as much as 20 basis points, in the footsteps of big four bank Westpac.

The lender has been making a major mark on the mortgage market in recent months, adding $3.2 billion - or 2.1% - to its home loan book in September. 

That represents roughly 24% of all growth in bank-issued mortgages that month, with Macquarie now holding around $154 billion of mortgages.

Only CommBank topped that result, expanding its home loan portfolio by just over $4 billion - about 0.7% - to a total of $603 billion, according to APRA data.

The lowest advertised fixed rate in Macquarie's line up is now 5.19% p.a. for fixed periods of one or two years (comparison rates* 5.34%-5.35% p.a.).

That rate is available to owner-occupiers with loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) of 70% or less making principal and interest repayments.

Banks can make changes to their advertised fixed rates whenever suits them and for whatever reasons appeal.

However, it's often thought that shifts to fixed rates reflect changes to a bank's RBA forecast.

Many economists now expect the cash rate will remain on ice for some time to come.

Those at NAB believe the RBA will cut once more in May 2026, while Westpac and ANZ tip two more cuts.

CommBank economists, meanwhile, believe the cash rate has already reached its bottom.

Macquarie Bank's new fixed mortgage rates for owner-occupiers

The biggest hikes put forward by Macquarie this week were made to its two and three year fixed rates, lifting them from recent lows of 4.99% p.a.

Here are the new rates on offer for owner-occupiers making principal and interest repayments:

LVR	Fixed rate period	Change	New rate	Comp rate*
<70%	One year	+10bp	5.19%	5.35%
	Two years	+20bp	5.19%	5.34%
	Three years	+20bp	5.29%	5.35%
	Five years	+10bp	5.39%	5.38%
<80%	One year	+10bp	5.29%	5.40%
	Two years	+20bp	5.29%	5.39%
	Three years	+20bp	5.39%	5.41%
	Five years	+10bp	5.49%	5.46%
<95%	One year	+4bp	5.49%	6.32%

Macquarie Bank's new fixed rates for investors

Investors seeking fixed mortgage rates through the bank may also find rates up to 20 basis points higher on Thursday, with rates being lifted for those considering principal and interest or interest only repayments:

Interest type	LVR	Fixed period	Change	New rate	Comp rate*
P&I	<70%	One year	+10bp	5.35%	5.50%
		Two years	+20bp	5.35%	5.49%
		Three years	+20bp	5.45%	5.50%
		Five years	+10bp	5.55%	5.54%
	<80%	One year	+10bp	5.45%	5.55%
		Two years	+20bp	5.45%	5.55%
		Three years	+20bp	5.55%	5.57%
		Five years	+10bp	5.65%	5.61%
	<90%	Two years	+16bp	5.75%	6.30%
		Three years	+16bp	5.85%	6.28%
IO	<70%	One year	+14bp	5.49%	5.69%
		Two years	+20bp	5.49%	5.68%
		Three years	+20bp	5.59%	5.69%
		Five years	+10bp	5.69%	5.71%
	<80%	One year	+14bp	5.59%	5.79%
		Two years	+20bp	5.59%	5.78%
		Three years	+20bp	5.69%	5.79%
		Five years	+10bp	5.79%	5.81%

BOQ's ME Bank shakes up variable home loan rates

It wasn't just Macquarie Bank making mortgage rate moves this week.

Bank of Queensland's (BOQ) ME Bank shaved five basis points from its Basic home loan product.

Owner-occupiers with LVRs of 80% or less turning to the product could now realise a rate of 5.38% p.a. (5.40% p.a. comparison rate*).

More fixed home loan rate hikes

Macquarie is far from alone in hiking fixed rates this week.

Joining it were smaller lenders Queensland Country Bank and the merged entities People's Choice Credit Union and Heritage Bank.

The former lifted its special offer two-year fixed rates by 20 basis points to 4.99% for owner-occupiers with LVRs of 80% or less (5.76% p.a. comparison rate*).

Perhaps the most interesting change from the latter relates to People's Choice's first home buyer loan.

First time purchasers with a deposit of at least 20% fixing their rate for three years could realise a rate of 5.09% p.a. (5.22% p.a. comparison rate*) - 20 basis points higher than that on the table earlier this week.

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Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

_{Image created on Canva using assets from Danausi on Wikimedia Commons}