Australia's CBA raises int rate by 45 basis pointsSYDNEY Nov 2...

Australia's CBA raises int rate by 45 basis points


SYDNEY Nov 2 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) on Tuesday raised its variable mortgage rate by 45 basis points or almost double the 25 basis points increase by the central bank.

"The Commonwealth Bank have today announced that as a result of continued increases in funding costs, we are lifting our variable home loan interest rates by 0.45 percent, effective of Friday the 5th of November 2010," the bank said on its website.

Australian banks, which borrow a quarter of their annual funding needs offshore, have complained of rising funding costs hurting margins. (Reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)