Only 1 in 10 CBA home loan customers reduced repayments after rate cut

Those in New South Wales were most likely to opt for the reduced repayments.

Only 10% of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) eligible home loan customers chose to reduce their mortgage direct debit repayments following the May interest rate cut.

Customers may be keeping the higher repayments to get ahead on their loans, said Tess Sutherland, general manager of CBA’s home buying team, in a July 2025 statement.

Sutherland said that they had let customers know of the option to reduce their repayments, and made the process quick and easy through the CommBank app and the NetBank app.

Of those who chose to reduce repayments, 39% came from the New South Wales region of Australia, ahead of Victoria (31%).

“In a state like NSW, where property prices are the highest in the country, it makes sense more customers are choosing to ease financial pressure by adjusting their repayments. It’s a practical way to create breathing room in the budget,” Sutherland said.

Customers aged between 31 and 50 were also the most likely to, and represented the largest share, of those who decided to reduce their repayments.

“We also found that those in their thirties and forties were the most likely age group to reduce their repayments - perhaps not surprising, given many in this cohort may be juggling school-aged kids and high household costs,” said Sutherland.

There was also a higher percentage of direct debit changes amongst investment loans compared to those held by owner-occupiers, the CBA said.

The proportion of home loan customers who reduced their repayments follows teh same trend as the February rate cut, CBA said. This is despite more customers being eligible to make changes after the May cut.

“Across the February and May rate cuts, the combined 0.50% per annum rate reduction could have delivered savings of around $160 a month for those making principal and interest repayments on an average loan size of $500,000,” CBA said.