Latest news with #BankofNewZealand
1News
27-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Major bank drops mortgage rates as OCR decision looms
A major bank has lowered home loan rates across the board ahead of tomorrow's widely anticipated official cash rate (OCR) cut. BNZ said there were 20% more customers applying for home loans in the six months to April, as compared to the same period last year. The bank's standard six-month fixed rate dropped from 5.49% to 5.35%, while the one-year rate fell from 4.99% to 4.95%. Its 18-month term fell from 4.95% to 4.89% and two-year term fell 4 basis points to 4.95%. The three-year term fell 20 basis points to 5.09%, four-year fell 30 basis points to 5.39% and the five-year rate fell 20 basis points to 5.59%. ADVERTISEMENT BNZ offers the same rates to those with 20% equity and those without - but those with less than 20% equity will pay a low equity premium. Variable rates have also been cut. The bank's home lending general manager James Leydon said the bank was confident to pass on savings because a cut from the Reserve Bank was widely expected tomorrow. Bank of New Zealand in Auckland CBD. (Source: Google Maps) The changes to mortgage rates follow a cut in term deposit rates at BNZ earlier in May. The bank lowered rates across various investment periods, with savers seeing the one-year term deposit rate fall to 3.90%. Leydon said of today's change: "We know many of our customers are looking beyond the very short-term fixed rates as the interest rate environment evolves. ADVERTISEMENT "By cutting our fixed rates across all terms, we're giving customers more choice and the ability to lock in a competitive rate for a longer period. "Lower interest rates should also help relieve some pressure on household budgets by making borrowing more affordable." The Reserve Bank will announce its OCR decision tomorrow, with economists widely expecting another 25 basis point cut.
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
BNZ preserves margins on flat half-year
Bank of New Zealand's net interest margins were flat at 2.37% for the six months to March 31, with the New Zealand arm of the National Australia Bank showing significant home-lending growth compared to its peers. That compared with 1.7% net interest margins (NIMs) in the Australian operation, mirroring Westpac's half-year result earlier this week in which NIMs in New Zealand were significantly higher than the bank was achieving in Australia. The New Zealand unit reported a statutory net profit increase of 4.3% on the same period a year earlier, at $795 million. The result included a $27m writeback of previously impaired loans, reflecting what BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins described as improving signs for the New Zealand economy. 'The economy appears to be at a turning point,' Huggins said in a statement.
Bloomberg
13-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
New Zealand Manufacturing Expands First Time in Almost Two Years
New Zealand's manufacturing industry expanded for the first time in almost two years, reinforcing signs the economy is starting to respond to lower borrowing costs. The Performance of Manufacturing Index rose to 51.4 in January from a revised 46.2 in December, Business New Zealand and Bank of New Zealand said Friday in Wellington. The index was above 50, the dividing line between contraction and expansion, for the first time since February 2023.
