In the past week major banks NAB and CBA tinkered with term deposit rates, yet customer-owned institutions continued to outshine with higher rates.
NAB
On Friday morning, NAB made changes across its 12-month terms by 25 basis points.
With interest paid at the end of term, the rate is now 4.00% p.a. with a $5,000 minimum deposit.
Interest payable monthly, quarterly or semi-annually see slight rate reductions.
CBA
Earlier in the week, CBA tinkered with term deposit rates, lowering some by 5 basis points and raising some by 5 basis points.
The 12-month rate was lowered to 3.75% p.a. with a $5,000 minimum deposit and interest payable at end of term.
However, from 17 January as a special offer, CBA launched a 12-month product with 4.00% p.a. interest - this is available for personal, SMSF and business customers.
Mutuals outshine
Despite rate increases to the 4.00% p.a. threshold from the big banks, mutuals or customer-owned banks continue to outpace their bigger compatriots.
Four of the top-five 12-month rates are offered by customer-owned institutions, as seen in the table below.
Great Southern Bank
Australia's largest customer-owned bank made a bevy of changes earlier in the week, increasing rates on terms anywhere from one month to five years.
The 12-month rate was boosted by 10 basis points to 4.20% p.a. with a $5,000 minimum deposit and interest payable at end of term.
G&C Mutual Bank
G&C Mutual made quite a few changes to its term deposit rates.
Most notable however was its 30 basis point boost to its 12-month product.
The rate is now a market-leading 4.50% p.a. with a $1,000 minimum deposit and interest payable at end of term.
Top 12-month term deposit rates, 20 January 2023
| Institution | % Rate Per Annum | Min Deposit |
| G&C Mutual | 4.50 | $1,000 |
| Goldfields Money | 4.40 | $5,000 |
| Gateway Bank | 4.35 | $1,000 |
| Credit Union SA | 4.30 | $5,000 |
| Illawarra Credit Union | 4.30 | $100,000 |
