St George Bank has lifted its standard variable home loan rate by more than the big four banks, saying it is important for the economy that it remains strong.

St George will lift its standard variable rate (SVR) by 12 basis points to 7.42 per cent from February 20, it said on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the Australian economy and for our customers that as a business we remain strong, particularly in an unstable economic environment,” chief executive Rob Chapman said in a statement.

“To support this, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase our standard variable home loan rate.”

The move follows recent rises in SVRs by all four major banks.

Commonwealth lifted its SVR by 10 basis points to 7.41 per cent, Westpac’s rose by 10 basis points to 7.46 per cent, National Australia Bank lifted by nine basis points to 7.31 per cent and ANZ hiked by six basis points to 7.36 per cent.

Another Westpac subsidiary, Bank of Melbourne, also raised its SVR on Wednesday by 10 basis points to 7.4 per cent.

“This was a difficult decision,” chief executive Scott Tanner said in a statement.

“It is important to balance our customers’ needs with the importance of ensuring that we remain a strong and viable business into the future.”

Bank of Melbourne only operates in Victoria, and was re-launched by Westpac in July 2011.