High-yield rates hold for now
The most marked cuts in interest rates over the week since the Reserve Bank of Australia cut cash rates by a quarter of a percentage point are taking place among term deposits.Many term deposits, and only a few at-call rates, have declined in excess of the 25 basis points, reflecting the steeper fall in bank bill rates. One-month to six-month BBSW has dropped to around 7.2 per cent, effective yesterday, with nine- and twelve-month rates a few points below seven per cent.The Community First one-year term deposits for various tiers have fallen by up to 60 points since the beginning of September, but still range from 7.3 to 7.8 per cent.For the same period, NSW Teachers has cut some tiered term rates by up to 45 points, although returns still remain at 8.2 per cent, with Greater Building Society cutting some premium deposits by 40 points to 7.6 per cent.More prominent bank one-year term cuts include Westpac decreasing some deposit tiers by 20 points to 7.6 per cent, with Macquarie Bank off 15 points to 7.6 per cent.Cuts in three- and six-month term deposit cuts vary little from 25 bps.At call savings accounts cut by more than 25 points include the Citibank Online Cash Manager slashing low rate tiers from four per cent to a mere tenth of one per cent, with balances above $50,000 also hit hard, down 125 points to 2.75 per cent.ING Direct contacted investors this week announcing the Savings Maximiser rate will not be cut in line with the RBA movement, remaining at seven per cent, with promotional interest of eight per cent for new deposits applicable until the end of October.The BankWest TeleNet saver has cut the promotional rate until the beginning of 2009 to 8.1 per cent. Bank West also lopped 100 basis points off its regular saver account, which still pays interest of nine per cent as long as the customer saves no more than $500 a month.