Two-year rate aligns with key rivals
Kiwibank has lifted its two- and three-year fixed home loan rates for the second time in as many days, pushing its three-year rate to the highest level among major New Zealand retail banks.
Kiwibank added 20 basis points (bps) to its two-year rate – one that had been skipped in the previous round of hikes – bringing it into line with ANZ and ASB, 10 bps below Westpac, but 20 bps above BNZ’s equivalent offer, interest.co.nz reported.
The bank also added 10 bps to its three-year fixed rate, on top of the 10 bps it had already lifted on that same term two days earlier, resulting in the highest three-year fixed rate in the current market.
As of Thursday, Kiwibank’s two-year fixed rate sits at 5.09% and its three-year rate at 5.45%, for loans below 80% loan-to-value ratio (LVR).
Unlike the previous rate adjustment, no term deposit changes accompanied the latest home loan rate increases.
ANZ and ASB both at 5.09%, BNZ at 4.89%, Westpac at 5.19%, and Kiwibank at 5.09% – up 20 bps from its previous position. For three-year terms, ANZ, ASB, and Co-operative Bank each offered 5.39%, Westpac and BNZ at 5.29%, and Kiwibank at 5.45% – up 10 bps and the highest among the major banks.
Smaller lenders offered comparatively lower rates, with Bank of China posting the lowest two-year rate at 4.58% and three-year rate at 4.88%, while ICBC offered 4.89% and 5.15% for the same respective terms, according to interest.co.nz.
In December, Kiwibank lifted its special two‑to‑five‑year fixed rates by between 20 and 30 bps, part of a broader trend among banks lifting longer‑term lending rates following the November Reserve Bank OCR decision.
