The win recognises the bank’s offer for first-home buyers
SBS has won Bank of the Year at Canstar’s First Home Buyers Awards 2023, for the second consecutive year.
Jose George (pictured above left), Canstar New Zealand general manager, said the win was in recognition of the bank’s competitive offerings and its service across multiple touchpoints in the first-home buyer’s journey.
“It’s been a really tumultuous time for first-home buyers,” George told Fuseworks Media. “House prices might have fallen from their peaks, but mortgage rates are now far higher than two years ago. Anyone looking to buy their first home in this environment will – quite understandably – likely be nervous about costs, repayments, and the future of the property market.
“It’s an environment in which financial providers can really support their customers navigating a potentially difficult and unknown path. And SBS has shown it does exactly that. Congratulations to the team.”
SBS CEO Mark McLean (pictured above right) said the bank takes pride that its FirstHome Combo package for first-home buyers leads the market in terms of a highly competitive one-year fixed interest rate, which at 6.19% is far lower than the market average.”
“The package also includes $2,000 cash and a $1,000 cashback into the borrower’s KiwiSaver account, as well as $1,000 towards home and contents insurance,” McLean said. “We are also working closely with housing providers such as Kainga Ora to access low deposit options for first-home buyers.”
The SBS Bank website features a First Home Buyers Hub that provides users with guidance and support to make their first-home buying journey as smooth as possible. As a result, the bank has welcomed nearly double the number of first-home buyers over the past two years – from 850 for the 2022 financial year to 1,449 for FY23.
SBS won Canstar’s Bank of the Year, First Home Buyers award for garnering the highest score across the areas of consideration – from how it supports customers through the planning stages, application, and settlement of the loan, to interest rate on offer and total cost.
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