Westpac hikes interest rates on fixed home loans

A major bank has hiked its fixed rate home loans weeks after forecasting interest rates could hit an 18-year high in 2026.

Westpac announced its fixed rates for home loans to owner-occupiers and investors would increase by 0.15 per cent.

"This change reflects the increased cost of fixed rate funding and ensures our fixed home loan rates remain aligned with current market conditions," the bank said in a message to customers.

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The rate increase will apply to all new fixed loans, and to any fixes on existing variable loans, from today.

Westpac's figures showed its lowest fixed rate was now 6.39 per cent.

It comes just weeks after the bank, citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, forecast mortgage holders would face three more interest rare hikes from the Reserve Bank.

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Interest rates have already risen from 3.60 per cent at the end of 2025 to 4.15 per cent after two increases to start the year.

Westpac had previously only predicted one further increase from the RBA.

"This shift reflects the longer disruption to and slower recovery in fuel supply assumed… with the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed for eight weeks and traffic recovering only slowly after that," Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said at the time.

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