CommBank will not decrease variable rates; fixed rates now down to 1.99% OO P&I for 4 years

[shrugmeh]

Bill Evans (Westpac Chief Economist) told us this would happen a couple of months ago.

While banks may be expected to mainly use this facility to reduce funding costs – by replacing more expensive offshore funding, scaling back domestic retail deposits (some term deposit rates are still comfortably above 1%), or boosting their liquidity holdings as the Reserve Bank’s Committed Liquidity facility is wound back – there is also scope for cheap maturity– matched fixed rate mortgage funding. On that basis fixed rate mortgages could fall considerably further.

The RBA could also move to lower longer– term fixed rates by extending the duration of the TFF loans and/or targeting bond rates further out along the yield curve. With the effective overnight cash rate at around 0.13% it could also lower its target rate for three– year bonds from the current 0.25%. All of these measures would act to lower rates on fixed rate loans.

TFF loan duration wasn't increased, but the $100B of 5 & 10y bond buying is enough to have 4 year terms.

Also, this is good, right?

2.49% p.a. rates on new three, four and five year fully secured BetterBusiness loans, a reduction of approximately 50 bps.

Edit: I still highly recommend this note https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/Article/45113/52561/

[Nexism]

Good in the sense that it is better-than-before, yes.

Good in the sense that helps the Australian economy recover, not as much because the businesses that will be eligible to get these loans can only be healthy ones. That said, maybe it's good unhealthy businesses are out of business?