NAB to Increase Interest Rates for the Third Time in Seven Weeks

The National Australia Bank will increase its main home loan interest rate today by 0.09 per cent, to 9.36 per cent - higher than the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, but slightly lower than the ANZ and Bendigo Banks.

The rise will be the third rate rise in almost seven weeks for NAB customers.

NAB chief executive officer Ahmed Fahour said the rise came as a result of tougher overseas trading conditions for banks, which hade made it more expensive for them to borrow money on behalf of their home loan customers.

The Reserve Bank of Australia earlier this month lifted its official interest rate to 7.25 per cent.

The RBA are meeting again next Tuesday (April 1, 2008) though it is widely tipped they will leave interest rates unchanged.

Industry experts predict the interest rate imposed by the RBA will fall to about 7 per cent, by this time next year.