Deposit takers get in ahead of the RBA

Deposit takers have already made their call on a Reserve Bank cut, with a large number of them cutting their term deposit rates.

Comparison site Mozo reports in its latest Banking Roundup that rates on 59 term deposit products were cut last month, with an average reduction of 22 basis points. The average rate for a 12-month TD fell from 2.44 per cent to 2.31 per cent.

Three of the four majors cut TD rates: ANZ cut between 10 and 30 bps across the board; Commonwealth Bank cut rates on terms of 12 months or longer, ranging from 20 to 40 bps; and NAB cut across the range, with reductions of as much as 55 bps.

Some of the other deposit takers that cut rates include Bank of Queensland, Citibank, Macquarie Bank, ME, MyState and Rabobank.

The top rate for a term under 12 months is now 2.75 per cent, which Firstmac is offering for six months.

For a 12-month term, a number of deposit takers are offering 2.7 per cent. They include Arab Bank Australia, Bank Australia, Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Qudos Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank.

The top TD rate in the market is 3 per cent, which Qudos Bank is offering for three years and IMB Bank is offering for five years.

The best rate on offer from a big bank is 2.35 per cent, which ANZ is offering for five months and Westpac is offering for four months.