Call Jane Counsel to Voice Your Opinion on the Westpac Interest Rate Rise
Jane Counsel - Media Relations at Westpac - Phone 0416 275 273 - 02 8253 3443
or janecounsel@westpac.com.au
Seems Jane Counsel is a bit fed up with the Treasurer Wayne Swan. When he questioned the outrageous decision by Westpac to top up the RBA's Interest rate rise by 20 basis points, she said that he was engaging in "bank bashing".
Well yeah sweetheart. He is. And damn, don't you deserve it?! Your latest decision to ignore the RBA's .25% interest rate rise by raising your variable rate to .45% is worth some bit of bashing.
But it comes on top of your refusal to pass on all the rate cuts during the financial crisis. And that was on top of your independent increases to your variable rate outside of the RBA's decisions in early 2008. In addition of course to jacking up rates to a higher level than the RBA's official increases to the cash rate at the time. It means that your net interest margin has grown by well over 1% during the last 2 years.
That's some dollars for Westpac. So much so that your profit was only down 10% in the last financial year to a staggering 3.45 billion dollars. Wow, you are doing it tough.
But not as tough as your CEO - Gail Kelly, who despite presiding over a drop in revenue, managed to score herself a 2 million dollar pay rise. Yes, Gail Kelly earned over 10.6 million dollars last year.
So call Jane Counsel or send her an email. Its her job to explain to you why they need to keep raising their rates over and above what the RBA decides.
Not that all the other major banks wont follow of course. The Treasurer can keep bank bashing, but unless he acts, they will just keep ignoring him. Whats the reason for the RBA decision on interest rates again?
About Just Grumpy
2 comments
Not that I agree with the decision to raise rates but I am finding it hard to be sympathetic. Every 6 months, renters can have their rents hiked by whatever amount the landlord wants. They don't need to follow inflation or the RBA, they just use supply (which is low) and demand to garnish as much income as they can from struggling students, families, new arrivals etc. Yet where are the news articles? Where is the outrage? Where are the calls of 'people before profit'?
Last year I had my rent hiked by 50%. Not .45% but a whole 50%. Could I go and get my rent 'refinanced' with a new landlord? No, I had to move out. So my sympathy for people who didn't consider interest rate rises when they got their mortgage in the first place (did they really think they would stay so low?), is hard to muster.
That is a really good point Leni. I must admit that even i didnt know they could hike by almost any amount until recently. A close friend came to me with almost the same problem you faced - 50% rise in 18 months.
We are kind of behind much of the world, where most landlords still only offer 12 month contracts. It gives landlords the opportunity to hike rent every year. Or indeed every six months if you are on a month to month contract.
I guess my concern with banks is not so much the RBA rate rise - thats to be expected. Its the gouging after that at any rate they so choose.
In other words, if Westapc chose to raise their rates by a whole 5%, and all the other majors followed, what is there to stop them? They wouldnt of course, cos there would be a major economic impact of people defaulting etc. But they have people over a barrel with the biggest investment of their lives.
YG
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