Kiwibank has undercut its banking rivals with its two-year fixed home loan rate – lowered this morning from 7.30% p.a. to 6.99%.The rate is at least 0.2% a year below the other big banks, offering two-year fixed rates of between 7.20% and 7.30%.Outg
Kiwibank has undercut its banking rivals with its two-year fixed home loan rate – lowered this morning from 7.30% p.a. to 6.99%.
The rate is at least 0.2% a year below the other big banks, offering two-year fixed rates of between 7.20% and 7.30%.
Outgoing chief executive at the state-owned bank Sam Knowles said the rate cut was to provide longer-term certainty to customers who were concerned about interest rate volatility.
“This is another option for home loan customers looking to lock in very competitive rates and to spread their lending risk," he said.
Last week Kiwibank launched a new capped variable mortgage rate that caps the standard floating rate at 6.50% for 12 months – for a $250 fee.
Kiwibank’s current annual variable rate is 5.90%.
HSBC has adjusted its rates in the opposite direction, lifting its standard two-year rate to 6.74% from 6.49%.
Most of the major banks have adjusted interest rates since the Reserve Bank raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% a fortnight ago – the first rise in the OCR since July 2007.
Most of the changes so far have affected floating rates and six-month and one-year fixed rates.
