据《悉尼晨锋报》报道，自从上个月联邦银行将五年固定贷款利率降低至记录低点后，这一澳洲最大的银行现又将其三年固定贷款利率下调了15个基点至4.94％，与澳洲国民银行（NAB）和澳新银行（ANZ）相同。

在住房贷款市场的竞争继续升温的情况下，澳洲联邦银行（CBA）表示最近主要来自金融市场利率的下降，有助于其减少三年和四年的固定抵押贷款利率。

降低固定贷款利率的举措，符合投资者关于未来储备银行的动向和各银行以此作为客户增长目标的预期。

联邦银行住房贷款部门总经理霍润（Clive van Horen）表示，最近几周经济疲软的迹象—— 包括失业率达到12年来高点的6.4％，促成了该银行做出固定贷款利率下降的决定。“ 失业率数字下降几天后，影响了利率互换（掉期利率），所以融资成本下降。”他说。

继8月6日澳洲失业率激增的消息公布和储备银行对经济增长进行一个下调后，联邦银行的三年固定利率已下降了10个基点。

为期三年的贷款是最受欢迎的固定贷款项目。联邦银行还同时将四年固定贷款利率下调了50个基点，至5.09％。

此外，自上月末以来，联邦银行已下降其三年期的存款利率35个基点至3.6％；四年期存款利率也被下调了30个基点，至3.8％。联邦银行住房贷款部门总经理霍润（Clive van Horen）也同时预测固定利率优惠短期内不会回涨。

澳洲各大银行此举让不少贷款用户减少了每个月还利息的数额，也相当于给澳洲经济放宽了货币政策环境。

新闻原版：

CBA slashes fixed mortgage rates

Clancy Yeates

Banking reporter

August 18, 2014

The Sydney Morning Herald

The Commonwealth Bank says recent falls in key financial market rates have helped it cut three and four-year fixed mortgage rates, as competition continues to heat up in the home loan market.

After cutting five-year fixed rates to a record low last month, the country's biggest bank has cut its key three-year rate by 15 basis points to 4.94 per cent,equalling NAB and ANZ. On Monday Westpac matched CBA's new three-year rate,bringing it into line with rivals.

Fixed rates move in line with investor expectations about future Reserve Bank moves and are used by banks to target customer growth.

CBA's general manager of home loans, Clive van Horen, said signs of economic weakness in recent weeks – including the unemployment rate hitting a12-year high of 6.4 per cent – had led to a decline in the swap rate that determines fixed borrowing costs.

“The unemployment numbers that came out in Australia a few daysback, that impacted the swap rate, so funding costs have dropped,” he said.

The three-year swap rate has declined by about 10 basis points since a spike on August 6 after the shock jump in unemployment and an economicgrowth downgrade from the Reserve Bank.

Three-year loans are the most popular fixed rate product. The CBA has also cut its less commonly used four-year rate by 50 basis points to 5.09 per cent.

As well as lowering mortgage rates, banks are also paying less to savers and the CBA is no exception to this trend.

Canstar analyst Mitchell Watson said that since late last month the CBA three-year term deposit rate had fallen by 35 basis points to 3.6 percent and its four-year term deposit rate was down 30 basis points to 3.8 percent.

Since CBA slashed its five-year loan last month, Mr van Horen said the share of new mortgage customers taking out a fixed rate loan had increasedfrom 13 per cent to 20 per cent. Of those new borrowers opting to fix, he saida record proportion had taken out five-year loans, which are being offered at 4.99 per cent.

"It's well in excess of anything we've ever seen before because it is such a strong rate," Mr van Horen said.

While the Reserve Bank has not moved the cash rate in a year, it says the actual rates paid by households have continued to fall in recent months due to lower fixed rates and larger discounts by banks.

Mr van Horen would not predict future interest rate movements but said he did not think fixed rates would rise in the "near term".