The bank sees a largely untouched opportunity in a segment many major lenders still treat as a sleepy funding pool.
For years, Macquarie has peeled customers away from the big four retail banks by pitching straightforward products that pay competitive interest without complex bonus conditions or minimum transaction hurdles. That approach has delivered a 6.4% share of Australia's $1.7 trillion household deposit market, built largely on its unconditional high-interest savings account.
Macquarie has played only a small role in term deposits, even though they are a critical, relatively stable source of funding for major lenders. Internally, Macquarie describes its presence in term deposits as underweight, highlighting how much room it sees to expand and rebalance its funding mix.
At the end of May, it held about $4 billion in term deposits, representing just 3.5% of its $112 billion total household deposit balance. The bank wants to use growth in this area to diversify its deposit book, reduce reliance on at-call savings and increase the overall pool of customer funds.
Executives also argue that term deposits have seen little genuine product innovation for years, reinforcing the potential for disruption using the same "no strings attached" formula. If Macquarie can bring simple, sharply priced term deposits to market at scale, it is poised to pressure the big four banks on one of their core funding levers.
A larger Macquarie footprint in this $320 billion segment could nudge competitors to lift rates or simplify conditions for retail savers. For customers, that contest may translate into clearer choices between traditional loyalty-driven offerings and cleaner, condition-free products.
