Auswide Bank is making a run at growth in mortgages, making home loans available at 3.98 per cent for owner-occupier borrowers with equity of at least 20 per cent. Auswide, based in northern Queensland, hopes to drum up demand through mortgage brokers with a rate equal to the lowest in the market, if the rankings by comparison site RateCity are any guide.Auswide managing director Martin Barrett said: "We want to take advantage of opportunity in the marketplace."This was a reference to adverse publicity for major lenders in light of Westpac's rate hike last week.Auswide is not alone. Canstar reported that Aussie Home Loans, AMP Bank and Macquarie Bank have cut variable rates in the past week.Aussie cut 13 bps off owner-occupier variable rate, taking the rate to 4.04 per cent. AMP reduced its Essential Home Loan rate from 4.09 per cent to 3.99 per cent. Macquarie cut the variable rate on its basic loan from 4.24 per cent to 4.09 per cent. Favourable trends on the liability side Auswide's business are also a factor in its rate move."The cost of funds is coming down and they are coming down for all institutions. Term deposit rates on the whole have continued to move down," Barrett said."And we've got capital coming out of our ears, so we thought the time was right with a strong rate."It should attract a lot of broker interest. We need to be careful, if it does, to make sure we can fulfill the service needs for those brokersBarrett said home loan flows "kicked off … our run from July to September was a record for us."With 3.98 per cent we expect to see a substantial amount of flow."