Citibank vs HSBC

Two of the world’s largest banking groups, Citibank and HSBC, have Australian offshoots and specialise in cross border banking services. We compare what banking facilities they have to offer Aussies who are playing, home or away.

2010 Federal Budget Overview

This is a very quick overview of the proposed changes as outlined in the 2010 Federal Government Budget. The proposed changes will need to be confirmed by the passing of any relevant legislation and thus all details may change.

First Home Saver Accounts Budget Update

A small change to the scheme was announced by the Federal Treasurer Mr Swan in the Budget last week to make them more flexible.

Fixing your Home Loan

Are you worried about the increases in home loan mortgage rates? Are you considering switching to a fixed mortgage?

Given the recent trend of home loan interest rate rises, many home owners may be considering switching to a fixed rate home loan. Home owners are facing a similar situation as they did approaching the Federal elections in 2007. At that time the mortgage rates increased rapidly and many opted to switch to a fixed rate loan only to see the RBA rapidly cut rates due to the global financial crisis. Many borrowers who did fix were left with monthly repayments substantially higher than variable rate repayments. Now the RBA is trying to fight inflation, house pricing bubbles and bring rates up from historically low rates.

Childrens Bank Account Review

Financial literacy is a very important issue for anyone and it pays to start young. Smart parents can start their children off on the right path by introducing their children to banking at an early age by signing up for a Childrens Bank Account. Most banks offer special bank accounts specifically for children. A few of them even have special websites to help the education process.

High Interest Savings Accounts with bonus interest for Regular Savings

Are you making regular deposits into a savings account? You might be interested then in finding out which bank products offer an incentive to regular savers. There are quite a few financial institutions that offer savings accounts with incentives to make regular monthly deposits however not all offer much in terms of a bonus. Read more to find those that do.

Savings Account Rates Update

With the increase in official cash rates by the RBA of 0.25% you would expect that the savings accounts offered by the banks would also follow suit. Suprisingly you would be wrong.

First Home Savers, how about a 17% return on your funds?

If you’re thinking about saving up for a deposit on your first home then you should consider the government incentivised (FHSAs).

ING Direct Orange Everyday Account

ING Direct the people who brought high interest savings accounts to Australia have a new everyday bank account with some great fee savings.

Savings Account Competition Heats Up

Citibank and Bankwest has upped the interest rate on their main savings account products. Citibank is now offering 5.71% for the first 6 months for new accounts whilst Bankwest has increased the introductory promotional interest rate on its TeleNet Saver account to match UBank USaver account’s 5.62%. The Citibank Online Saver has a standard interest [...]