ANZ drops business loans from monthly review

Ian Rogers
ANZ will have more latitude to adjust interest rates charged to business borrowers. The bank said on Friday that it will no longer include business loans in its monthly interest rate review.

The monthly review, which takes place on the second Friday of every month (a process now two years old), will now relate only to residential loans.

The bank said rate reviews for small business "will be aligned to ANZ's separate review process for corporate and commercial banking clients, with any changes [being] advertised nationally."

Since the recent peak in lending rates, in late 2010, indicator lending rates for small business borrowers with term loans have fallen by 175 basis points.

Larger business borrowers have seen cuts in lending rates, on average, of 190 bps.

ANZ's standard variable home-loan rate remains at 5.88 per cent, the bank said. Its next interest rate review for variable rate home loans is due to take place in February 2014.