Commonwealth Bank welcomes the announcement it is joining the federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) confirmed today that CBA had been selected as part of a competitive procurement process to offer home loans to first home buyers under the Scheme.

Commonwealth Bank Group Executive Angus Sullivan said: “As Australia’s largest lender we help more Australians buy their first home than any other bank. We are excited to work alongside the government and NHFIC on the FHLDS to help more first home buyers purchase their own home.

“We understand that saving a deposit for a home can be challenging and we support initiatives like the FHLDS that could potentially save customers thousands and help them enter the property market sooner. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the government and NHFIC on the successful implementation of the scheme.”

The Scheme will support up to 10,000 loans each financial year, starting from 1 January 2020, with applications to open in the New Year.

CBA is committed to helping first home buyers enter the property market and will not charge eligible Scheme customers higher interest rates than equivalent customers outside of the Scheme.

“The Scheme will complement our existing home loan offering including our competitive products and services, including a 2 and 3 year 2.99% Fixed Rate for new and existing customers, and market leading technology, including our award winning mobile app,” Mr Sullivan said.

“Interested Australians should call or visit us in a CommBank branch to see if this or one of our other products might be right to get them into their new home faster.”

More information about the Scheme including eligibility criteria is available on the NHFIC website, with updates to be provided on the CommBank website in the lead-up to 1 January.