Savings accounts with Bank of Queensland have reduced from 5.50% to 5.25% WITHOUT announcement or notice and effective immediately from 21 February 2025. Doing this without even an email or app notification is honestly disgusting as they benefit from customers not checking their bank account daily.
Here's an article that confirms this and also outlines which other banks are decreasing their rates and if they made an announcement or not.
This is rubbish!
I have savings accounts with several banks and most have notified the 0.25% reduction in savings rates.
Macquarie being the only exception is still assessing the situation as of today.
Anyway, whether you see the notification or not what are you going to do about it?
The banks are all taking the opportunity to reduce savings rates by 0.25%
Its just a matter of when???
Ummm this has been happening for the last 3 decades hasn't it?
I know it's not unique to Bank of Queensland. A number of other banks including NAB did not notify customers, but the majority who cut rates at least sent an email. In this day and age to not notify customers shows a complete lack of respect in my opinion. the fact that Bank of Queensland can send me annoying marketing emails but not important information about my accounts shows this strategy is intentional. I'm pointing this out so people can see it for what it is and choose which banks they use accordingly.
It was major news headlines when the RBA dropped rates for the first time since 2020. How did you not except anything different? What difference does an email make?
I was aware of the rate cuts but I don't think it's fair to assume savings rates would drop instantly. Not all banks have dropped their rates yet, just look at ING and UBank. I'm sure they will drop their rates also eventually but if I was notified by BOQ like I was by all the other banks I have accounts with, I could have moved my money accordingly to banks like the two above that haven't lowered their rates yet.
@ds311: Fair or not, it's not surprising.
Assuming you don't have a squillion dollars (because you would probably have a person to handle your money), surely moving money between banks for the limited days in between two institutions rates changes wouldn't be worth the paperwork. Imagine moving to ing/ubank only to discover later they cut rates by even more
.
Nab did on the 21st. I only have accounts with no fund on them.
this has been happening for the last 3 decades hasn't it?
Yes. That's what's been happening for the 50+ years I've been using banks.
Totally loling at how easily people are disgusted, offended, outraged and all the other reasons they get their knickers in a twist these days. They must have thrown all the toys out of the pram when they were babies.
Typical, these banks will take weeks to consider passing the rate cut for mortgages, but need no such consideration for cutting their savings rate
imagine the profit of holding on passing the rate cut each day…. they just (profanity) greedy bast***
Was just about to write the same thing.
ubank gonna droppem 1 March
(profanity)
sucks but at least they were decent enough to email us -_-
"I will personally be pulling my money out immediately and will be hesitant to ever use this bank again."
Seriously? Just get over it and move on, it's not the end of the world
probably end of OP's world
This attitude is the reason why banks get away with charging more for loans and giving less out for savings. Just look at the ACCC investigation into the widening net interest margin for banks in recent years.
https://www.accc.gov.au/inquiries-and-consultations/retail-d…
Never said it was the end of the world, but this is a real issue that needs to be paid attention to if we want things to change. Primarily people need to switch banks more to encourage competition.
Where does that investigation look into the widening net interest margin?
It appears to focus on the "bonus" interest conditions that banks set and difficulty of churning accounts to get the best rates. There's nothing about mortgage interest rates in there.
@freefall101: You're correct, this inquiry was only into saving rates not mortgage rates. My point is the widening net interest margin was the catalyst for launching this inquiry, since saving rates are one side of that.
Saving rates paid are historically low compared to mortgage rates and this inquiry investigates the saving rates side and why they are so low. One of the findings of the inquiry was that banks can get away with lower savings rates because people don't switch accounts very often.
@ds311: Net interest margins have been falling for over 20 years. https://www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/images/banking-indicators/…
This attitude is the reason why banks get away with…
Exactly that. And not only banks. Government, insurance, big corporations, etc.
And judging by the - you got, versus the + for
Seriously? Just get over it and move on, it's not the end of the world
They can happily keep doing as they please unchallenged and without any consequence!
Trouble is that in this instance you don't really have many better options.
Can't really vote with your wallet when they all do it
can always put it under your mattress.
And then send yourself an email when you take some out to buy something nice.
"can always put it under your mattress"
Like this bloke?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/nsw-arrests-over-guns…
.
@Jaduqimon: I think it was recovered in spite of being cash
Banks are subject to the ePayments Code, they must return your money if your account is hacked, and the burden of proof is on them to prove that it wasn't hacked or that you gave out your password.
Home and contents insurance doesn't usually cover cash either, good luck if your house burns down.
Or if you have well-meaning family: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/10/million-dollar…
all in bitcoin
I can imagine people going months without noticing the decrease and losing money on their savings
Its like $20 a month difference for every $100k, it's not end of the world money lol and 5.25% is still a good rate. Compare to what happened with Macquarie where they dropped the transaction one from 4.75% to 2.xx% (had notice but still sucked)
Its like $20 a month difference for every $100k, it's not end of the world money lol
I have to agree with your point that it's really a small difference in the end.
What I find interesting is that when it's savings rates dropping by comparable amounts then it's 'really nothing to worry about' but when mortgage rates increase by any amount it's as though the end of the world is coming.
I guess because the amount of savings people has generally is a lot smaller than the mortgage so the difference is vast.
Also, while I DO agree with OP that I'd be annoyed if my bank did the same, my point was that it doesn't warrant the theatrics in this post, which has since been edited
I was personally shocked to see that my savings in Bank of Queensland had reduced from 5.5% to 5.25% WITHOUT announcement or notice and effective immediately
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSb5VtFvDdA
Following the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision to decrease the official cash rate by 0.25% per annum (p.a.), CBA will decrease home loan variable interest rates by 0.25% p.a.
But OP, I'm shocked when CBA pass the cuts immediately to my home loan, they usually don't do that, your loss is my gain LOL
Just got an Email this evening from Ubank changing the interest rate from 5.50% PA to 5.25% for balances below 100k.
Are there any other options for HISA ? Is it worth moving to other options or they all gonna drop soon now ?
No real point moving. All the top rates will drop .25%.
they are all dropping this month, my Newcastle Permanent account dropped .25%, as did my dad's Westpac account, it is going to happen across the board
That sucks, I didn't get an email yet. Same rate drop for over $100k?
(profanity)
If wish the bank will give high saving rate to people without mortgage, and at the same time charge low mortgage rate to landlord.
Yeah not possible bro. It up or down for all
I'm still with rabobank - until they inevitably follow.
Fcukers
wow disaster
I was personally shocked to see that my savings in Bank of Queensland had reduced
Did you miss the million posts on the interest rate cuts?
I will personally be pulling my money out immediately and will be hesitant to ever use this bank again.
Ok Karen…. Move your money and live a happy life.
Thanks I will :)
losing money on their savings
The noted banks are ADI's and are covered by the FCS, so unless you have over $250k deposited with any one bank, and the bank fails, you are not losing your savings…
As for banks lowering their rates, the RBA just lowered their cash rate target, and banks have historically followed suit. So this is nothing new (well for most of us that is…).
As for banks lowering their rates, the RBA just lowered their cash rate target, and banks have historically followed suit. So this is nothing new (well for most of us that is…).
If they are freaking out over .25% cut now, wait till they starting heading to where everyone wants them to be!
Ahhh COVID times, that cash was getting basically 0% after taxes.
5.25% is pretty much the best you will get so nobody is going to be losing money for "months"
SOFT LANDING !
Wow pretty crappy to do it without notice, NAB at least sent me an email saying about the rate changes. They were quick on it too, pretty sure they sent it legit the day or next day it was announced.
Nearly time to shift to stocks 😅
Yeah, sorry, I just read that as "old man shakes fist at clouds"
BOQ saver is under 35 only so I'm not that old lol but I get your point. I'm not complaining that the rate dropped, mostly just that BOQ didn't have the decency to send their customers a simple email to keep them updated on something that will have an impact on their future earnings. I get a million marketing emails from them but they're silent when it's something that actually matters.
You are right OP. As far as I remember they sent out an email for the past increases and decreases of savings account interest. Was taken back to see this happen this time without an email. I did however transferred my money elsewhere after this.
The solution is simple: hang the bankers. The problem is however, as Osho so eloquently put it, the people are retarded.
Welcome to 'Straya, please check your IQ at the door and mind the gap.
Hyep very annoying….