<\/p>\n
\nThe bank lifted its special two-to-five-year fixed rates by between 20 and 30 basis points.
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Marika Khabazi\n<\/p>\n
Kiwibank is the latest to raise longer-term home loan rates, following in the footsteps of its major Australian-owned rivals<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bank lifted its special two-to-five-year fixed rates by between 20 and 30 basis points.<\/p>\n Its six-month rate was lowered by 16 basis points to 4.59 percent.<\/p>\n Special rates applied to borrowers with a minimum 20 percent equity.<\/p>\n Kiwibank’s standard home loan rates – for borrowers without 20 percent equity – also increased by between 20 and 30 basis points.<\/p>\n Banks have been lifting some longer-term lending rates amid increases in the wholesale market<\/a> following November’s Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate (OCR) decision.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “Financial market conditions have tightened since the November decision, beyond what is implied by our central projection for the OCR,” Breman said.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n