Login
ISCOVER
Steven Cross
Just moments ago, Westpac announced that it would cut the interest on its standrad variable rate by 37 basis points - slightly less than the 40 basis points CBA cut from its SVR.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
The decision takes Westpac's standrad variable rate to 7.09 per cent.
Westpac was largely expected to withhold some of the rate cut, after financial results released earlier this week showed the bank's profits for the first half of 2012 were down by 25 per cent.
Westpac’s net profit for the six months to March 31 stood at $2.967 billion, in contrast to the $3.96 billion the bank posted in the previous period.
Part of the profit drop was caused by a one-off tax benefit last year.
In the 2012 Westpac Interim results however, profit from mortgages was up from $304 million in the half year to September 2011, to $309.6 million this half of 2012, with 38 per cent coming from third party origination.
