SYDNEY, March 26, 2026, 22:17 (UTC+11)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia will hike all fixed home loan rates by 30 basis points, or 0.30 percentage point, starting Friday, March 27—its second increase on mortgages this month. Variable mortgage rates jump by 25 basis points as well, and some savings rates are set to go up by as much as 25 basis points from the same day.
Timing is key here. Borrowers are getting squeezed on both fixed and variable loans right after the Reserve Bank of Australia bumped the cash rate target up to 4.10% on March 17, with a narrow 5-4 vote marking its second hike of 2026. The RBA pointed to rising inflation in the second half of 2025 and flagged that robust demand plus a spike in fuel costs could keep price growth running hot for longer than expected.
CBA attributed the fixed-rate hike to shifts in funding and market dynamics. According to 9News, the increase covers both new and existing customers, even those with pending applications, with certain fixed rates climbing up to 7.19% for owner-occupiers and 7.04% for investors.
The lender previously announced it would move to pass the RBA’s 0.25 percentage point increase on to variable-rate home loan customers starting March 27. Angus Sullivan, CBA’s group executive for retail banking, acknowledged earlier this month that rate hikes can strain household finances. He said the bank plans to offer customers tools and support to help manage their repayments.
CBA is set to bump up the max GoalSaver rate to 4.75% starting Friday, and the introductory rate for NetBank Saver will hit 4.95%, Canstar says. But there’s a snag: the GoalSaver base rate stays at 0.25% for anyone who slips up on the monthly requirements.
Sally Tindall, Canstar’s data insights director, described the change as a “win for engaged savers”—but flagged the catch in the details. The bank’s new NetBank Saver aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds kicks off with 5.10% for five months, then drops back to 1.95%. GoalSaver customers missing the criteria? They’re left earning a token rate. Canstar
CBA’s move comes as the big banks shake things up. Westpac, for one, said on March 17 it will bump up its Westpac Life savings rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% starting March 27. ANZ and NAB, meanwhile, are set to increase their variable home-loan rates by 25 basis points on the same day.
Still, the impact won’t land the same everywhere. CBA told 9News that fixed-rate loans account for just a minor slice of its fresh mortgage business, leaving a larger pool of borrowers facing the brunt of Friday’s variable-rate hike. On the flip side, savers who don’t meet bonus conditions likely won’t feel much from those higher headline deposit rates.
Conditions are still shaky. The RBA flagged big question marks over domestic demand, inflation, and the ongoing Middle East conflict. It also noted a climb in money market rates and government bond yields this past month — a shift that often trickles into mortgage costs, pushing households to consider whether to fix or float their rates.
