While floating rates are the norm in Australia, less than 10% of all Kiwi mortgages are on floating rates. The reality for Kiwi is that floating rates are consistently so much more expensive than fixed rates. So what's causing this, and should they be so high?
Despite the Reserve Bank holding off on increasing the Official Cash Rate, ANZ has just announced it’s lifting its home loan interest rates across the board by between 0.10% and 0.26%. So why have they increased their rates, and is the move justified?
Heartland Bank has launched a brand-spanking new savings product — the Digital Saver account. And with a 5.00%p.a. interest rate, it sounds pretty good. But there’s something kind of weird about Heartland launching this new account — so what's the deal, and is there a catch?
Not all savings accounts are created equal, and it's worth knowing what all your options are so you can get set up with the one that best suits your savings goals. Here, we've pulled together a wrap-up of the different savings accounts available across New Zealand's main retail banks.
Two New Zealand banks are sticking their necks out on the home loan rates front right now - one high, one low. Why? It all comes down to profit strategy. But in his latest article Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, explains why the bank leading the pack is likely to need to rethink its "go high" strategy soon.
Chief Squirrel David Cunningham recently popped along to chat with Interest.co.nz's Gareth Vaughan on the Of Interest podcast. They talked all about interest rates, bank margins and the Commerce Commission's probe into competition in banking. Give the episode a listen here.
New Zealand is deep in a cost-of-living crisis, and those with mortgages are struggling. And yet amidst all of this, New Zealand banks are thriving – bringing in record profits. So, what’s the driver behind what the banks are doing with home loan rates?
When you hold money with a bank – be it in a transaction or savings account, or a term investment – it doesn’t just sit there. So, why won’t banks let you choose where your money goes, and are there other options to investing?
Bank margins in New Zealand are at record levels right now – higher than they’ve been in about 10 years. So why are headlines painting the image that bank margins are worryingly low?
As New Zealand holds its collective breath, waiting for interest rates to start falling again, here are the key OCR announcement dates you need in your diary for 2023 and 2024.
New Zealand banks have increased their fixed mortgage rates by about 0.25% over the last few weeks - despite the latest signal from the RBNZ being that hikes are (likely) done and dusted. So, what's that all about?
Back on 24th May, Adrian Orr said OCR hikes had done their job, and we'd hit the peak. So why then, six weeks later, are wholesale markets predicting we'll need another OCR hike, maybe two, in order to get inflation truly under control? Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, shares his thoughts on this, and explains why he's pretty sure the wholesale markets have got it wrong.