Westpac reduces certain fixed home loan rates.
The bank’s one-year special rate for customers with 20% equity would decrease by 10 basis points to 4.79%.
The six-month and 18-month fixed special rates would decrease to 5.09% (a reduction of 20 basis points) and 4.79% (a reduction of 16 basis points), respectively.
The bank’s standard rates were also adjusted. Six-month standard loan rates fell by 20 basis points to 5.69%. One-year rates decreased by 10 basis points to 5.39%, while 18-month loan rates dropped 16 basis points to 5.39%.
Westpac also reduced certain term deposit rates for durations ranging from 5 months to three years.
“Our reduced shorter-term rates offer great value for customers looking to lock in for a short term, and for those looking for longer-term certainty on repayments, we continue to have the lowest or joint-lowest 3-to-5-year advertised special rates of the five biggest banks,” Westpac NZ general manager of product, sustainability and marketing, Sarah Hearn, said.
It comes after ANZ and BNZ announced reductions in certain fixed and special home loan interest rates.
Economist Cameron Bagrie said that although the recent interest rate cuts benefited borrowers, they were detrimental to savers.
“Banks are trimming rates on both sides of their balance sheet. Term deposit rates have been coming down and in line with mortgage rates. So there’s some winners out there, and there’s some losers on the other side,” Bagrie said.
“We’ve seen green shoots, but green shoots sometimes turn brown, and there’s a lot of global uncertainty at the moment.”