What are the terms under the new rates?
Westpac New Zealand has announced a series of changes to its housing and term deposit rates, positioning itself with the lowest advertised home loan rates among the country’s five major banks for 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month terms.
According to a news release, this strategic move, effective beginning today, includes significant reductions aimed at providing better value to customers amid fluctuating wholesale rates. Westpac NZ emphasised this adjustment makes its home loan offerings notably competitive, especially for customers seeking to re-fix their mortgages at more favourable rates.
“We know this will be welcome news for customers looking to re-fix their mortgage soon,” said Sarah Hearn (pictured above), Westpac NZ’s general manager of product, sustainability, and marketing. “We’re at a unique stage of the cycle where some customers may be looking to re-fix at lower rates from recent highs.”
Hearn acknowledged the diverse situations of customers, particularly those transitioning from historically low rates seen in recent years.
“We do also acknowledge that some customers may still be re-fixing their loans from the historically low rates we have seen over recent years and may still be concerned about their increasing costs,” she said. “We continue to proactively call home loan customers who may be facing into financial difficulty to ensure they’re well supported and understand their options.”
In addition to the home loan rate cuts, Westpac NZ has reduced a range of term deposit rates by five to 10 basis points.
Despite the rising cost of living, Hearn said that most customers are managing well.
“Our data shows most of our customers are coping well with higher living costs, but we encourage them to get in touch if they have any concerns,” she said.
New pricing
The new pricing changes are as follows:
Home Loan Rates
Fixed Home Loan Rates – Special
Six-month fixed rate: Reduced to 6.89% p.a.
12-month fixed rate: Reduced to 6.89% p.a.
18-month fixed rate: Reduced to 6.89% p.a.
Fixed Home Loan Rates – Standard
Six-month fixed rate: Reduced to 7.19% p.a.
12-month fixed rate: Reduced to 7.19% p.a.
18-month fixed rate: Reduced to 7.19% p.a.
Term Deposit Rates
Six-month term deposit: Adjusted to 4.85% p.a.
12-month term deposit: Adjusted to 5.10% p.a.
18-month term deposit: Adjusted to 5.35% p.a.
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