Two More of Australia’s Big Banks Raise Home Loan Rates

Two more of Australia’s big banks have raised home loan rates as funding costs climb, heaping additional pressure on indebted households. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. both raised their key standard variable mortgage rate Thursday, joining Westpac Banking Corp., which was the first of the big four to move last week. The move comes even as the central bank holds official interest rates at a record low, and may squeeze borrowers already struggling with stagnant wages growth and the highest levels of household debt among G-20 nations.