ASB, ANZ, and Westpac send mixed rate signals ahead of July's OCR call
ASB has become the latest major bank to reprice its fixed home loan book, cutting longer-term rates while lifting shorter ones — a move that follows recent rate cuts from ANZ and Westpac as the Reserve Bank's next official cash rate review approaches.
ASB cuts longer terms, lifts shorter ones
ASB's five-year fixed rate falls 30 basis points to 5.59%, with three- and four-year terms down 20bps to 5.29% and 5.49% respectively. But its six-month rate rises 20bps to 4.69% and its 18-month term climbs 14bps to 5.09%, while one- and two-year rates hold at 4.65% and 5.25%. The bank has also trimmed term deposit rates by up to 25bps on two- to five-year terms.
"Wholesale interest rates continue to be somewhat volatile", said Adam Boyd, ASB's executive general manager personal banking — a dynamic he linked to broader international pricing trends.
Rivals are moving the same way
The shift mirrors moves already made by Westpac, which cut its three- and four-year rates by 20bps and its five-year rate by 30bps, and by ANZ, which cut one-year rates 14bps and two- and three-year rates 20bps each. ANZ's Grant Knuckey noted that "global events continue to influence wholesale rates". Kiwibank also cut its two- to five-year terms while lifting its six-month rate.
A defensive stance ahead of the OCR
Taken together, the pattern points to something other than genuine competition: analysis from interest.co.nz suggests the moves reflect falling wholesale swap rates, with the big banks now largely matched across most terms.
The changes also land just before the Reserve Bank's 8 July OCR review, where economists are divided between a hold and a hike after the bank's last decision was settled only by the governor's tie-breaking vote.
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