Westpac has increased most of its standard and special home loan rates, and cut its six-month home loan rate, a move which it says is in response to recent changes to funding costs.
The bank’s fixed six-month special rate will reduce to 4.49%, while its one-year fixed special rate will remain unchanged at 4.49%.
Other fixed home loan rates, both standard and special, will rise by 0.10% and 0.20%.
The changes will be effective from Monday, February 2.
Term deposits at the bank have also risen from 0.10% to 0.25% across a range of terms from eight months to five years, Westpac said.
Wholesale interest rates have continued to rise, which has driven up the cost of providing fixed home lending on longer terms, Westpac NZ’s managing director of product, sustainability and marketing, Sarah Hearn, said.
“Two-year wholesale rates are more than 0.5% p.a. higher than they were in late November. In that time, we’ve increased our two-year fixed home loan rate by 0.44% p.a.”
Hearn said Westpac was “absorbing some of the cost” of the rates increases within the business “while continuing to offer some of the best deposit rates among the give banks on longer terms".
“We know interest rates are a hot topic among Kiwi homeowners at the moment. We’re here to help and we encourage customers to talk to us for guidance on how they can pay off their home loan faster.”
Earlier this month, forecasters warned borrowers may want to fix their home loan soon.
On January 14, ANZ also raised some of its home loan interest rates. It also downgraded its forecast for house prices this year.
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