Compare home loans from the big four banks

Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Big 4 Variable Home Loan Rates

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

ANZ home loans

The table below displays a snapshot of ANZ’s variable home loans for both investors and owner-occupiers. See our page on ANZ home loans for a look at some of its fixed-rate products too. 

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Commonwealth Bank home loans

The table below displays a snapshot of CBA’s variable home loans for both investors and owner-occupiers. See our page on CBA home loans for a look at some of its fixed-rate products too. 

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

NAB home loans

The table below displays a snapshot of NAB’s variable home loans for both investors and owner-occupiers. See our page on NAB home loans for a look at some of its fixed-rate products too. 

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Westpac home loans

The table below displays a snapshot of Westpac’s variable home loans for both investors and owner-occupiers. See our page on Westpac home loans for a look at some of its fixed-rate products too. 

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

On this page

• Who are the big four banks? 
• Big four rates and fees compared
• Big four home loans: pros and cons

Who are the big four banks in Australia? 

Australia’s big four banks take up an enormous share of the nation’s financial ecosystem, including Australia’s lucrative home loan market. 

The big four banks are (in alphabetical order) ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Westpac. Combined, they make up around 80% of the total mortgage market. 

These banks must abide by what's called the 'four pillars policy.' This policy essentially bans these four banks from ever merging.

The latest APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) data shows they collectively hold assets worth around $3.8 trillion - most of which is tied up in home lending.

Commonwealth Bank 

Total residents' assets held (September 2022): $1.16 trillion

Home loans under management to owner occupiers (September 2022): $350 billion 

Home loans under management to investors (September 2022): $174 billion

The biggest of the big four in terms of its home loan book is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia with over $524 billion. Established by the government in 1911, CBA opened its first branch in Melbourne in 1912. The bank also operated as the nation’s central bank from 1920 up until the Reserve Bank of Australia was created in 1960.

Amid the deregulation of Australia’s banking industry in the 1980s, the Commonwealth Bank was slowly converted from a government-owned entity to a public company, eventually becoming fully privatised in 1996. Today it has 875 branches across the country, as well as international branches in Asia, New Zealand, North America, and Europe.

Earlier this year, CommBank launched Unloan, Australia's first variable rate digital home loan with a discount that increases every year for up to 30 years. Bankwest is a subsidiary of CommBank. 

Westpac 

Total residents' assets held (September 2022): $1.02 trillion

Home loans under management to owner occupiers (September 2022): $287 billion 

Home loans under management to investors (September 2022): $154 billion

Coming in a fair way behind Commonwealth Bank as the second largest home lender at over $430 billion, Westpac is Australia’s first and oldest financial institution and has served more than 14 million customers. 

Established in 1817, Westpac today owns a number of other Australian banks such as RAMS, St. George, BankSA, and Bank of Melbourne.

NAB 

Total residents' assets held (September 2022): $940 billion

Home loans under management to owner occupiers (September 2022): $195 billion 

Home loans under management to investors (September 2022): $108 billion

National Australia Bank, or simply NAB, is the third biggest home loan lender in Australia with more than $300 billion on its loan book.

NAB has been around for over 160 years, and today it serves more than 8.5 million customers globally. It also has more than 500 branches nationwide and business banking centres overseas.

NAB owns popular digital bank UBank. 

ANZ

Total residents' assets held (September 2022): $705 billion

Home loans under management to owner occupiers (September 2022): $175 billion 

Home loans under management to investors (September 2022): $90 billion

ANZ – Australia and New Zealand Banking Group – is one of the oldest banks in Australia, having formed as the Bank of Australasia in 1835 in Sydney. In terms of home loans it’s the smallest of the big four, with around $265 billion on its loan book. 

ANZ has a large global presence too, operating in 32 countries and employing almost 40,000 people. 

What home loans do the big four offer? 

The big four banks dominate the home loan market, and each one of them has plenty of different home loans to choose from. Look at any of the big four’s home loan range and you’ll see: 

1. Owner-occupier home loans
2. Refinance home loans
3. Guarantor home loans
4. Investment home loans 
5. Low-doc home loans
6. Construction loans
7. Bridging loans
8. Line of credit home loans
9. Personal loans

And more. They have a huge number of products that can be used by most types of borrowers – see our article on each of the different types of home loans here. 

Big four banks’ interest rates: how do they compare to other lenders? 

Australia’s big four banks are not generally known to offer the lowest interest rates on the market for home loans. You may be able to find lower-rate home loans from other types of lenders, such as: 

• Customer-owned banks: Also known as mutual banks, customer-owned banks are owned and operated with the sole purpose of providing banking services to customers rather than generating a profit. They argue this lets them offer better rates and fees to their customers.
• Other retail banks: Some of the biggest retail banks outside the big four have billions of dollars’ worth in loans under management, with some of the biggest being the likes of ING, Macquarie Bank, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, HSBC, AMP and more. 
• Non-bank lenders: Non-bank lenders are financial institutions that don’t hold an ADI license, meaning they can’t offer deposit products such as savings accounts, transaction accounts, term deposits or offset accounts. They can still offer some competitively priced home loans, however. 

When comparing rates and fees across each of these different types of lenders, make sure you take into account more than just the interest rate (yes it's possibly the most important factor, but it's not the only one to consider).

You want to look into the comparison rate, the establishment fees and ongoing fees (if applicable, how much), and whether the home loan will come with features such as an offset account or redraw facility.

Are the big banks safer?

All of Australia's big four banks are Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADI), but so are smaller banks and digital banks.

In the unlikely event that a bank, building society, or credit union collapses, the financial claims scheme is a government guarantee that provides protection to people and other bank account holders with money on deposit in eligible accounts.

To find out if a financial institution is an ADI, you can view the full list of banks, building societies, and credit unions that are covered under the scheme on APRA's website.

Further, all licensed banks are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

What are the pros and cons of big four home loans?

There are a lot of similarities between the big banks and smaller banks and lenders. They all have to adhere to consumer credit protection laws and responsible lending obligations, so they’re generally all considered safe to borrow from.  

That being said, when making any type of decision, it's always best to consider the advantages and disadvantages. So, here are the pros and cons of big four home loans:

Pros

• The big four are massive and tend to offer a huge range of home loan products for different borrowing needs 
• The big four generally can be more lenient with their lending requirements and have borrowing options for people who might struggle to get a standard loan elsewhere (see: low doc home loans) 
• They offer plenty of package products, which provide discounts for people who bundle products into one package with the same bank 
• The big four have massive networks of ATMs and branches at a time when smaller banks are going online. If you prefer in-person banking, the big banks will probably be a good option 
• The big four have more resources, which means they can provide good service and innovative online banking (Commbank has the #1 banking app in Australia, for example)
• The big four offer a wide range of features such as offset accounts and redraw facilities 

Cons

• The big four generally tend to have higher rates on basic home loan products (not always). If you’re after the lowest rates on the market you might have to look elsewhere 
• Fees on big four home loans (and other banking products) can be higher on average 
• You might not be able to get personalised service at the same level as the smaller banks. Many of these banks base their entire business model around being fast and efficient online 

Savings.com.au’s two cents 

Whether you should bank with one of the big four or with a smaller institution ultimately comes down to your personal preference.

If you prefer to have access to ATMs and the convenience of a physical branch, then a big four bank might be an option worth considering. However, if this isn't a priority for you, you may find a better deal with a smaller lender.

Before you make a final decision, it's worth comparing a few home loans, both from the big banks and other lenders to see which better suits your financial situation.

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