The bank lifted its special two-to-five-year fixed rates by between 20 and 30 basis points.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Kiwibank is the latest to raise longer-term home loan rates, following in the footsteps of its major Australian-owned rivals.
The bank lifted its special two-to-five-year fixed rates by between 20 and 30 basis points.
Its six-month rate was lowered by 16 basis points to 4.59 percent.
Special rates applied to borrowers with a minimum 20 percent equity.
Kiwibank’s standard home loan rates – for borrowers without 20 percent equity – also increased by between 20 and 30 basis points.
Banks have been lifting some longer-term lending rates amid increases in the wholesale market following November’s Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate (OCR) decision.
The movement in wholesale interest rates prompted Reserve Bank governor Anna Breman to issue a statement to cool financial markets, saying they had gone “beyond” the RBNZ’s projection for interest rates.
“Financial market conditions have tightened since the November decision, beyond what is implied by our central projection for the OCR,” Breman said.
Wholesale rates did move slightly lower after the governor’s statement, but remained significantly higher than what they were prior to the November OCR decision.
Financial markets have priced in rate hikes for the second half of 2026, despite the RBNZ’s own forecasts implying a hike would not arrive until 2027.
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