UPDATE 1-Canada's commercial banks follow BoC rate cut

(Add other banks announcements, context)

TORONTO, April 22 (Reuters) - It took some time, but Canadian commercial banks decided on Tuesday to reduce the rate charged on loans to their best customers, following the Bank of Canada's cut to its key interest rate.

The central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis point early on Tuesday to 3 percent, as expected.

Almost eight hours after the announcement, commercial banks started to do their own cuts.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) was the first one to announce that from Wednesday its prime lending rate will be at 4.75 percent, down from the current level of 5.25 percent.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) took the same action, cutting their prime rates by half-percentage point to 4.75 percent.

Since January, commercial banks have been taking some time to update their prime rates following Bank of Canada decisions.

So far, the Canadian banks have matched the central bank through the current easing cycle. The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points since December. (Reporting by Renato Andrade; Editing by Peter Galloway)