Bank of Sydney, AMP and Westpac were among the banks that altered rates, with two weeks to go before 1 August and the next RBA monetary policy decision.
Prior to yesterday's labour force release, market expectations were there was a 75% chance the RBA will once again decide against increasing the cash rate, but after it was revealed unemployment dropped to 3.5% in June, this expectation dropped to 57%.
Many economists expect further increases will be necessary, and it's likely to be a while before the cash rate starts to go down, but the outlook is uncertain.
Term deposit providers need to balance offering competitive returns to attract customers against the possibility of being locked in to paying customers rates well above market standards once the cash rate starts to lower.
After this weeks movements, several providers now offer the joint highest available term deposit rate in Australia (5.45% p.a) per Savings.com.au's market research, after Bank of Sydney cut rates while AMP hiked.
Bank of Sydney lowers rates by 5 basis points
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Percentage point change |
| Six months | $1,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 5.45% p.a (-0.05) |
After being the first provider to offer 5.50% returns on term deposits, Bank of Sydney chose this week to slightly cut back those rates on six month terms.
The increase to 5.5 came in July, after the RBA elected to keep the cash rate at 4.10%, and was likely a bid to capitalise while other banks might be more cautious, building market share.
A 5.45% annual return remains the highest available for six month terms in Australia, per Savings.com.au's market research.
AMP increases rates by up to 20 basis points
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Percentage point change |
| Three months | $5,000-$24,999.99 | End of term | 5.10% p.a (+0.2) |
| Three months | $25,000-$4,999,999.99 | End of term | 5.15% p.a (+0.2) |
| Nine months | $5,000-$24,999.99 | End of term | 5.40% p.a (+0.2) |
| Nine months | $25,000-$4,999,999.99 | End of term | 5.45% p.a (+0.2) |
| One year | $5,000-$24,999.99 | End of term | 5.40% p.a (+0.1) |
| One year | $25,000-$4,999,999.99 | End of term | 5.45% p.a (+0.1) |
| Two years | $25,000-$4,999,999.99 | Annually | 5.20% p.a (+0.05) |
| Three, Four or Five years | $25,000-$4,999,999.99 | Annually | 5.20% p.a (+0.1) |
AMP increased its range of term deposit products by up to 20 basis points this week, moving level with Judo for one year term deposit rates of 5.45% p.a.
AMP offers term deposit sizes from $5,000 to $5,000,000, but generally there is a 5 basis point discount for deposits less than $25,000.
For these smaller deposits, Judo remains 5 basis points clear of AMP, 5.45% p.a compared to 5.40% p.a.
AMP offers versions of these products with monthly, quarterly and semi annual interest payments, for which there are respectively 20, 10 and 5 basis point discounts to the above rates.
Westpac varies special term deposit rates by up to 40 basis points
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Percentage point change |
| Six months | $5,000-$5,000,000 | Monthly | 4.10% p.a (-0.4) |
| 12-23 months | $5,000-$5,000,000 | End of term, annually or monthly | 4.75% p.a (+0.25) |
Westpac this week altered rates on its special offer term deposit rates for existing customers.
For both products, customers can earn an additional 10 basis points online bonus offer when they open or renew.
Westpac previously offered 4.50% p.a for both the six month and one year products, but interestingly opted to differentiate now in a non-RBA-hike month.
Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans expects a terminal cash rate of 4.60%, with 25 basis points expected in both August and September.
Great Southern Bank increases rates by 25 basis points
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Percentage point change |
| Six months | $5,000-$99,999,999.99 | Monthly | 5.00% p.a (+0.25) |
| Six months | $5,000-$99,999,999.99 | End of term | 5.10% p.a (+0.25) |
| One year | $5,000-$99,999,999.99 | Monthly | 5.15% p.a (+0.25) |
| One year | $5,000-$99,999,999.99 | End of term | 5.25% p.a (+0.25) |
Great Southern Bank was another to hike up rates this week.
The Queensland based operation (formerly CUA) offers a huge maximum deposit size, up to $100,000,000.
A customer wealthy enough to deposit this for a year can now expect to earn about $525,000 upon maturity.
Macquarie decreases rates by 5 basis points
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Percentage point change |
| Six months | $5,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.80% p.a (-0.05) |
| Nine months | $5,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.90% p.a (-0.05) |
| One year | $5,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.95% p.a (-0.05) |
Other notable movers
- Bank of us increased rates by up to 95 basis points.
- Bankwest increased rates by up to 30 basis points
- The Mac increased rates by up to 150 basis points
- Bank SA increased special offer rates by up to 15 basis points
- Bank of Melbourne increased special offer rates by up to 15 basis points
- St George varied special offer rates by up to 65 basis points
- Beyond Bank increased rates by up to 20 basis points
- Community First increased special offer rates by up to 20 basis points, reaching 5.25% p.a for one year terms.
- Northern Inland CU increased rates by 20 basis points
- MyState increased rates by up to 250 basis points
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Want to earn a fixed interest rate on your cash? The table below features term deposits with some of the highest interest rates on the market for a six-month term.
Image by Harrison Astbury
Jacob Cocciolone
Staff Writers
