Following last week's move made by The Co-Operative Bank, ANZ is the first of the big five to jump in and lower its two-year term rate to 3.45%. Still not as low as what the Chinese banks are currently offering, but it is market-leading amongst the NZ banks.
Along with the two-year term, ANZ also reduced its six-month and one-year rate, with the six-month rate now at 3.65%. It’s worth noting this is still 0.16% higher than the Kiwi-owned Co-Operative Bank who is sitting at 3.49%. ANZ’s one-year rate is now at 3.55%, which merely matches Kiwibank, but is still 0.06% higher than Co-Operative Bank.
It may not come as a surprise that ANZ is focusing on the two-year term with the two-year swap rate dropping since the start of October.
ANZ's Acting Managing Director of Retail and Business Banking, Ben Kelleher, has said that: "there is still strong demand for housing in New Zealand and spring is a very popular time for Kiwis to start looking at buying".
It won't come as a surprise if the other big five banks follow suit with some likely to drop even lower, given the presence of the Chinese banks who are still offering historically low rates.
