Yellow Brick Road Holdings Limited (ASX Code: YBR) ("Yellow Brick Road") has announced that it will pass on the much anticipated 0.25 per cent rate cut to its Empower home loan customers if the RBA announces a reduction to the official cash rate this afternoon.

Yellow Brick Road is gunning to shake up the home loan market and has a strategic intent to challenge the banks by offering lower variable rates than any other branch based financial institution in the country.

"Over the past few years, the major banks have chosen to not pass rate cuts on in full, choosing instead to increase their short term discounting in an effort to gain new customers without losing profit margin on existing customers," says Yellow Brick Road Executive Chairman Mark Bouris. "This is a smart strategy for the lenders, but it leaves customers in the dark as to what they are paying because the focus is on the discount rather than the actual rate. It's a dangerous position and one that Yellow Brick Road is hell bent on changing in the best interest of the consumer."

Today's Yellow Brick Road announcement to drop rates in line with the anticipated 0.25 per cent cut from the RBA comes off the back of an announcement made by the company yesterday which will see it phase out its discount variable rate advertising in favour of "true rate" advertising. Yellow Brick Road has taken the position that discount advertising creates consumer confusion and can distort borrowing decisions, which is why Yellow Brick Road has pledged to now only advertise the true rate that a consumer will pay for their home loan. From the social media response that the company has received since yesterday's announcement, this decision is being welcomed by consumers.

"We want to set the record straight with mortgage holders and give them the opportunity to get the best possible deal with full transparency," says Bouris. "Consumers need to have confidence in their decisions and we as lenders need to be responsible for creating that confidence. There are a lot of smokescreens that need to come down, and we have to give consumers the ability to make informed decisions. We're not going to get there without shaking things up and putting some pressure on the industry to do the right thing. We know that this will not be popular amongst most of our banking industry peers, or at least we consider them peers."

Yellow Brick Road's Rate Smasher and Empower home loan rates will both be reduced if the RBA moves 0.25 per cent, making the Rate Smasher 4.74 per cent p.a. (currently 4.99 per cent p.a.) and the Empower loan 4.95 per cent p.a. (currently 5.20 per cent p.a.). Even before any rate reduction,
the Rate Smasher loan "undercuts every advertised variable rate available through the major banks' branch networks", according to independent rate comparison site Mozo.

ENDS
For more information, contact:
Chelsea O'Donnell
PR Manager
Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management
T 02 8226 8202
M 0414 704 033
E Chelsea.ODonnell@ybr.com.au

About Yellow Brick Road
Yellow Brick Road is a group of wealth management and financial services companies headed by Executive Chairman Mark Bouris. Yellow Brick Road offers tailored advice and services to Australians wanting to build financial security for the future. With over 150 branches and licensees nationally and growing, Yellow Brick Road is committed to delivering accessibility, quality financial advice and competition in the market.
For more information visit www.ybr.com.au

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