ANZ follows the OCR up 25 basis points

Personal Finance / news

ANZ pushes through a matching 25 basis points rate hike for borrowers on floating rates and bonus saver accounts, just like its main rivals, not rocking the boat with any rate competition

[updated]

29th May 23, 5:09pm by David Chaston

Image sourced from Shutterstock.com

ANZ is the next major bank to follow through with its OCR-induced interest rate increases.

While it hasn't announced any changes to fixed home loan rates, ANZ is passing on the full 25 basis points to floating rates. The Reserve Bank last week raised the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.50%.

That means ANZ’s floating rate will rise to 8.64%, matching both ASB and Westpac who have already moved up. ANZ's flexible revolving credit rate will also rise 25 bps but to 8.75%*. This product is one of those rare ones that also comes with a monthly fee (unchanged).

ANZ's Blueprint to Build (the discounted floating rate for people building their own home) home loan rate will also increase by 0.25% to 5.88%.

These increases are all effective now for new clients, but not until June 13 for existing clients.

At the same time, ANZ - like ASB and Westpac also did - is raising its key savings rates too with its Serious Saver rate going up 25 bps to 4.50% for the maximum potential rate. For comparison, ASB's Savings Plus maximum potential rate rose to 5.00% and Westpac's Bonus Saver rate rose to 4.50% on the same basis (ASB's account is slightly more restrictive than others).

The Serious Saver rate will change on Thursday, June 1.

As is usual in these cases, an ANZ spokesperson has the standard boilerplate advice: “In coming months more people will be feeling financial pressure as their fixed home loans roll off. There are a range of options available, and we encourage anyone facing any difficulty or needing support to get in touch with their bank sooner rather than later.”

ANZ's changes are very little different from its main competitors, so this change is holding the competitive landscape unchanged. No-one is rocking the boat on rates and no main bank seems to want to compete on rates.

* This rate isn't effective for new clients until June 13, 2023.

We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment

Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.

22 Comments

by HSL | 29th May 23, 5:32pm 1685338343

Any idea of the % of mortgage holders on floating?

by tomjones_04 | 29th May 23, 5:34pm 1685338445

Tony Alexander- I'm 99% confident interest rates have peaked and houses will rise 5-10% over the next 12 months. The man is a disgrace to his craft and should be publicly flogged for poor performance.

by WellingtonInvestor | 29th May 23, 5:52pm 1685339549

The government seems to think they will drop another 5% over 2024 which sounds more possible. Everyone should just stop making 'predictions'. The price is largely dictated by the interest rates and what loan someone can afford to service IMO

by Justa comment | 29th May 23, 7:24pm 1685345099

Exactly, how much can people borrow on 6.5%. Thats where it sits for at least the next 9 months.

by NZGecko | 29th May 23, 7:05pm 1685343952

TA and AC are the serial spruikers - who have been wrong and wrong on every call over the last 2 years.

Listen to everything they say....... then expect and plan on the opposite.

How Tony A expects house prices can defy the strong gravity of more expensive debt Beggers belief........ as we know he is bought and paid for by the RE industry's vested interests - so he must tow the old trodden line of you "just cannot lose on property"......

by Yvil | 30th May 23, 8:35am 1685392541

Tom, will you accept to take the flogging you propose to inflict on TA yourself, if he ends up being correct?

by ChrisOfNoFame | 30th May 23, 10:31am 1685399476

He could be right ... he just left out a few words ...

I'm 99% confident interest rates have peaked and houses will rise 5-10% over the next 12 months before resuming their return to affordability.

by Mr Ed | 30th May 23, 3:34pm 1685417691

It’s the purple hair dye that’s addling his brain

by WellingtonInvestor | 29th May 23, 5:59pm 1685339968

Pretty poor considering ASBs online saver rate has increased to 5% and Rabo too is at 5%. Even some 2nd tier banks are quite a bit lower than this.

by interesting1234 | 29th May 23, 8:42pm 1685349740

RBNZ: “we don’t expect banks to put up their interest rates”

by MisterB | 29th May 23, 9:53pm 1685353981

Did the RBNZ actually say that? The entire point of the OCR is a signal, so that banks put their variable rates up (both sides of the ledger). Fixed rates are driven by swaps mind you.

by interesting1234 | 30th May 23, 8:08am 1685390916

Exactly, Adrian Orr said that at the panel interview the other morning yes.

by tuisbest | 29th May 23, 10:28pm 1685356111

BNZ seems to be lagging behind, as usual. Hope they plan to move too.

by Blackdog | 30th May 23, 8:08am 1685390880

BNZ will be first to cut, 2 and 3 year rates.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 30th May 23, 10:51am 1685400668

Some "good news" on the inflation front in the next six month and they'll all be cutting.

Good news means ...

rising unemployment
more mortgagee sales
more builders going bust
more retailers going bust
more hospitality going bust
higher levels of poverty
lost more high value tourists due to a low NZD

The RBNZ has a strange idea of what is good, ay?

by Independent_Observer | 30th May 23, 11:02am 1685401344

Which is what I have never understood post GFC. Asset prices were rising, not because the economy was strong, but because central banks were cutting rates in response to an economy that was becoming weaker and needed more and more stimulus just to stay afloat.

All arse about face. Asset prices shouldn't have been rising because the economy was weak. And now that the economy is 'booming' with record low unemployment and high wage growth, asset prices are falling. Strange world we live in.

When will it return to normality? Whereby asset prices rise on a strong economy, and fall on a weak economy? That will require central banks to stop playing the fools game of trying to trick the markets with dodgy discount rates that don't reflect the real risk that is present in the system. Risk has been rising the last 10 years, so should then have the required rate of return for which debt was funding those assets (for the theory of risk vs return to remain constant/true). But instead as risk was rising, we were dropping the required rate of return, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

by Averageman | 30th May 23, 1:56pm 1685411809

All in to protect the ponzi of that time. Which has created a bigger ponzi

by ChrisOfNoFame | 30th May 23, 10:57am 1685401048

Well, well. Seems people are running their own auctions via the RE web sites.

i.e. start with $1m, then updated to $1.005m, then updated to $1.015m, rinse and repeat.

I've seen this done a few times before but it seems to be much more common now. (Psychologically, it must be much better than the more typical Dutch auction format which reeks of desperation.)

by K.W. | 30th May 23, 12:37pm 1685407043

Adjusting for "feedback". If you really wanted to cause chaos in the real estate market just go attend some open homes and then breathlessly tell the real estate agent that you would totally be prepared to pay X amount of dollars for the place (that is at least 20% above what the place is worth) and that you will be attending the auction/submitting a bid - then disappear.

by Yvil | 30th May 23, 2:25pm 1685413545

So you have no understanding that, in order to bid at an auction, you need to provide all your personal details ?

by 100bucks | 30th May 23, 5:04pm 1685423068

Rubbish, Anyone can bid from the floor.

by tuisbest | 31st May 23, 6:45am 1685472336

You're probably right for auctions where they auction plastic chairs and the like.

For property, no. Yvil is right.