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Kiwibank matches the (almost) market-leading 4.35% one year home loan rate and adds their $2,000 cash-back offer to qualifying borrowers

Kiwibank matches the (almost) market-leading 4.35% one year home loan rate and adds their $2,000 cash-back offer to qualifying borrowers

State-owned bank Kiwibank has matched ANZ's 4.35% one year home loan rate.

And it has made its current $2,000 cash-back for new lending of $200,000 or more, available with that rate.

The cash-back offer is also available for lending over 80% LVR.

But the 4.35% rate offer is a 'special' so it requires an LVR lower than 80%.

The new rate is as carded and will apply until further notice. But the cash-back offer will only run until March 4, 2018.

The same deal is available for AMP Home Loan branded channels.

The new rate is only +16 bps higher than the market-leading HSBC Premier rate for that term.

Cash-backs had slipped off the radar, only used in the final stages of off-card negotiation in response to competitive pressures. But they are now back, on the table and above board.

This new round of visible public competition comes as re-sales activity in real estate markets are struggling to generate usual high-season volumes. That leaves banks with zero-sum options as far as achieving their planned mortgage book growth.

And that can only be good for borrowers who may be getting deals with finer margins.

Margins are being squeezed because wholesale interest rates are not really shifting at the short end where one and two year home loans are funded. Only be reducing term deposit rates can they protect those margins.

If you are in the market for a mortgage, or a rollover, now could be a good time to negotiate.

If you have completed a recent transaction, especially one where you ended up with a below-rate-card deal, we would love to hear about it in the comment section below.

See all banks' carded, or advertised, home loan interest rates here.

Here is the full snapshot of the fixed-term rates on offer from the key retail banks.

below 80% LVR 6 mths  1 yr  18 mth  2 yrs   3 yrs  4 yrs  5 yrs 
as at February 14, 2018 % % % % % % %
               
4.99 4.35 5.15 4.65 4.99 5.89 6.09
ASB 4.95 4.49 4.39 4.65 4.89 5.39 5.59
5.35 4.39 5.05 4.65 4.99 5.89 6.09
Kiwibank 4.99 4.35
  4.65 4.99 5.65 5.69
Westpac 5.25 4.39 5.15 4.65 4.94 5.89 5.59
               
4.80 4.44 4.69 4.69 4.99 5.39 5.59
HSBC 4.85 4.19 4.19 4.29 4.89 5.29 5.59
HSBC 4.99 4.44 4.69 4.69 4.99 5.49 5.69
4.85 4.49 4.65 4.64 4.79 5.55 5.69

In addition to the above table, BNZ has a fixed seven year rate which is 6.15%.

And TSB still has a ten year fixed rate of 6.20%.

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