Bandt to push for compulsory tracker mortgages
Greens MP Adam Bandt plans to amend his banking bill to require banks to offer mortgages that pass on any Reserve Bank rate cut in full.So-called tracker loans are offered by some lenders, although they are not common. Bandt, who is the Greens' banking spokesperson, introduced the Banking and Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mobility and Flexibility) Bill last August. The bill is yet to be debated in the House of Representatives.In a statement issued yesterday, Bandt said: "There is a misleading campaign about their [the banks'] cost of finance. Australia's banks are among the most profitable in the world, with fat interest margins."The bill introduced last year includes provisions intended to allow consumers to switch bank accounts more easily. It also requires approved deposit-taking institutions to give term-deposit holders more comprehensive information about rollover rates at the end of the term.The most controversial provision in the bill is a requirement that a mortgage insurance contract be terminated when the mortgage it covers is terminated. The lender would have to pay a premium rebate to the borrower.