Home News Macquarie, Judo cut term deposit rates

Term deposit rates start year off slowly

Major term deposit providers cut returns this week as speculation starts to build for the first monetary policy decision of 2025.

By Harry O'Sullivan

First published on 17 Jan 2025

Fact Checked

Term deposit rates start year off slowly

After the excitement of last week when AMP took six month rates to market leading heights, the past few days have been a reality check for TD fans.

While the exact date they will occur remains up in the air, RBA rate cuts in the first half of this year appear to be all but assured.

Per the ASX RBA rate tracker, a 25 basis point cut is fully priced in by April based on trading activity and as of 16 January the market thinks there is a 73% chance rates are cut at the next meeting in February.

One key piece of data that will influence the February call is already in - Thursday's Labour Force figures for December showed unemployment ticked up to 4% at the end of last year.

In the most recent Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA were projecting the unemployment rate to increase to 4.3% by the end of 2024 so it's still highly uncertain whether there will be a cut.

Nevertheless, with cuts expected before too long, the term deposit market looks odds on to continue cooling, although bold new against the grain hikes aren't impossible.

Here were the major rate changes from the week ending January 17.

Judo Bank vary rates up to 10 bps

Term length	Deposit size	Payment frequency	Interest rate (Change)
Three months	$1,000-$2,000,000	End of term	4.90% p.a. (-0.05)
Six months	$1,000-$2,000,000	End of term	5.00% p.a. (-0.05)
Nine months	$1,000-$2,000,000	End of term	4.95% p.a. (-0.10)
One year	$1,000-$2,000,000	End of term	4.90% p.a. (-0.10)
Four/Five years	$1,000-$2,000,000	End of term	4.50% p.a. (+0.05)

Judo's marquee term deposit products took another hit this week, with three month, nine month and one year terms all dropping below 5.00% p.a.

The six month rate remains Judo's strongest at 5.00% p.a., but that's now 0.15% lower than AMP where the top six month rate is 5.15% p.a.

Longer TDs though saw a slight uptick, with four and five year returns boosted 5 basis points.

Macquarie cut rates 10 bps

Term length	Deposit size	Payment frequency	Interest rate (Change)
Three months	$5,000-$1,000,000	End of term	4.75% p.a. (-0.10)
Four months	$5,000-$1,000,000	End of term	4.65% p.a. (-0.10)
Six months	$5,000-$1,000,000	End of term	4.65% p.a. (-0.10)
Nine months	$5,000-$1,000,000	End of term	4.55% p.a. (-0.10)
One year	$5,000-$1,000,000	End of term	4.50% p.a. (-0.10)

Macquarie Bank also cut back this week with 0.10% shaved off its products of one year terms or shorter.

For high rollers, Macquarie now has an advertised rate for deposits over $1,000,000, but it's significantly below the return on smaller deposits.

On one year terms for example, above $1 million earns 4.25% p.a. compared to 4.50% p.a. for investments of $1 million and under.

Other movers

Heartland Bank massively boosted one month rates, taking the return from 1.75% p.a to 4.10% p.a.
Hume Bank varied rates up to 35 bps including a new top rate of 4.75% p.a. on 100 day terms
Credit Union SA varied rates by up to 110 bps, including a new top rate of 4.90% p.a. for four month terms, equal to Judo's three month product.
Bank of Queensland cut rates 10 bps
ME Bank and Bank Australia vary rates up to 10 bps

Looking for a fixed income investment? Check out some of the top term deposits in Australia

Deposit amount

Compare

Provider	Interest rate	Interest frequency	Term	Automatic Rollover	Maturity Alert	Early Withdrawal Available	Minimum Deposit	Joint Application	Online Application	as ofJanuary 18, 2025

	5.00^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	1000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	SMSF Term Deposit - 6 months
SMSF Term Deposit - 6 months More details
	5.09^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	25000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Term Deposit - 6 months
Term Deposit - 6 months More details
	5.05^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	1000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Term Deposits - 6 months
Term Deposits - 6 months More details
	5.15^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	25000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Term Deposit ($25,000+) - 6 months
Term Deposit ($25,000+) - 6 months More details
	5.00^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	5000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Term Deposit - 6 months
Term Deposit - 6 months More details
	4.65^%_p.a.	At Maturity	6_months	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	5000	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Macquarie Bank Term Deposit (<$1,000,000) - 6 months
Macquarie Bank Term Deposit (<$1,000,000) - 6 months More details

Personal Term Deposits - 6 months

Product Features

Competitive interest rates on all term lengths
Deposits covered up to $250,000 under Government's Finance Claims Scheme
Loyalty bonus at renewal

Minimum deposit$1,000

5.00%Interest rate p.a.

6Term

More details

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Picture by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Harry O'Sullivan

Harry joined Infochoice Group in November 2022 as a financial journalist. He's fascinated by economics, having completed a Bachelors Degree in 2021, and enjoys helping other people try to make sense of the financial system.

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Term deposit rates start year off slowly

Judo Bank vary rates up to 10 bps

Macquarie cut rates 10 bps

Other movers

SMSF Term Deposit - 6 months

SMSF Term Deposit - 6 months

Term Deposit - 6 months

Term Deposit - 6 months

Term Deposits - 6 months

Term Deposits - 6 months

Term Deposit ($25,000+) - 6 months

Term Deposit ($25,000+) - 6 months

Term Deposit - 6 months

Term Deposit - 6 months

Macquarie Bank Term Deposit (<$1,000,000) - 6 months

Macquarie Bank Term Deposit (<$1,000,000) - 6 months

Harry O'Sullivan

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