Westpac is cutting most of its fixed home loan rates from tomorrow, even as its economists warn that interest rates are likely to climb over the next year.
The biggest cut is to the bank’s one-year special, which drops 20 basis points to 4.99%.
Westpac is also lowering its three-, four- and five-year fixed rates by between 10 and 16 basis points.
The bank said the longer-term cuts gave it the lowest rates for those terms among the country’s five biggest banks as of Tuesday afternoon.
However, not every rate is falling, with the two-year special rising 10 basis points to 5.39%.
Westpac NZ managing director of product, sustainability and marketing Sarah Hearn said the bank wanted to give customers good value.
"The market is highly competitive and we’re committed to continuing to offer customers great value on their home loan interest rates," Hearn said.
"Our 1-year term and market-leading 18-month term home loan rates continue to be popular, but our longer-term rates also offer good value for homeowners looking for more certainty on their repayment amounts."
She warned that the bank still expected borrowing costs to climb.
"Our economists still think interest rates are heading upwards over the next year. We encourage anyone who’s worried about making ends meet in the future to get in touch."
From tomorrow, the five-year special will drop to 5.59%, the four-year to 5.55% and the three-year to 5.49%. The six-month (4.89%) and 18-month (5.19%) specials are unchanged.
Standard rates are moving by the same amounts. The one-year standard rate falls to 5.59%.
Westpac is cutting its three-, four- and five-year term deposit rates by 0.20 percentage points, to 4.40% for three years and 4.65% for four and five years.
SHARE ME