ASB reclaims its market leading rate card with more rapid-fire rate cuts. Challenger banks also chime in with some notably low levels too

There are more carded home loan rate reductions over the past 24 hours, the latest being from ASB.

Recent cuts by Kiwibank, by ICBC, and by SBS Bank are also notable as well. Yes, it is a challenge to keep up.

The extension of the flurry of rate cuts are changing the relative positioning of all bank rate offers.

At each fixed term, these show who has the lowest offer, and how your current bank compares.

It also helps you assess the rate benefits you give up for going shorter.

ASB is back with dips to take them again lower than their main rivals.

Main-bank competition remains fierce with no-one prepared to give an inch.

Very oddly, this has left Heartland Bank in an uncomfortable position. For years their online offers were the market-leading benchmark. Now they are far from that, although in this vortex of rapid rate cuts, they may restore that with cuts of their own. We'll see - we don't have any inside information on what they are about to do, if anything.

Now, the lowest carded rates for each fixed term are:

6 months = ASB at 6.85%
1 year = Cooperative Bank at 6.39%
18 months = ANZ, ASB, and ICBC at 5.99%
2 years = ASB and SBS Bank at 5.89%
3 years = ASB at 5.79%
4 years = ASB and Westpac at 5.79%
5 years = ASB and Westpac at 5.69%

It is probably worth noting that missing from this list is Kiwibank, the institution ComCom singled out to be the disrupter, and today their CEO said they were up for that role.

Almost all banks will have some flexibility in their rate offers. So the carded rates are just the start. Negotiate. How flexible they may be will depend on the strength of your financials. And don't forget, banks have savvy tools at hand to 'know' the likely valuation of your property, so if the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is near 80% you may not find them very accommodating for a lower rate. With falling house prices, the point where low equity premiums start applying is shifting around as well. See this.

And the carded rates we report here can be different to the rates banks might offer in their banking app. We would like readers to reveal what their banking app shows as the potential offer rates. Please add that market intelligence in the comment section below.

A quick check of the wholesale swap rate chart below gives a clear understanding of where funding costs are heading.

One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below. Term deposit rates can be assessed using this calculator.

And if you already have a fixed term mortgage that is not up for renewal at this time, our break fee calculator may help you assess your options. Break fees will be minimal in a rising market. But they become important in a falling market, like now. Don't forget, when you sign up for a fixed rate you are signing a contract. You have been given the right to break it in legislation but the bank has the right to reclaim its costs when you do so. This is NOT evidence of banks making it hard to switch (as some borrowers, and sadly some journalists seem to think).

Here is the updated snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment.

Fixed, below 80% LVR	6 mths	1 yr	18 mth	2 yrs	3 yrs	4 yrs	5 yrs
as at August 22, 2024	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	6.89	6.45	5.99	5.99	5.89	6.74	6.74
	6.85 -0.04	6.45 -0.14	5.99 -0.16	5.89 -0.10	5.79 -0.10	5.79 -0.10	5.69 -0.00
	6.89	6.55	6.15	5.99	5.89	5.89	5.89
	6.89 -0.16	6.45 -0.30		5.99 -0.35	5.89 -0.20	5.89 -0.20	5.89 -0.20
	6.89	6.59	6.15	5.99	5.89	5.79	5.69
Bank of China	6.95	6.79	6.59	6.39	6.09	6.09	6.09
China Construction Bank	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.34	5.99	6.40	6.40
Co-operative Bank	6.89	6.39	6.19	5.99	5.99	5.99	5.99
Heartland Bank		6.69	6.49	6.35	6.15
ICBC	6.89 -0.16	6.45 -0.40	5.99 -0.66	5.99 -0.50	5.89 -0.50	5.89 -0.40	5.89 -0.40
	6.89 -0.10	6.59 -0.26	6.15 -0.34	5.89 -0.10	5.89 -0.10	5.89 -0.10	5.89 -0.10
	6.99	6.69	6.65	6.25	5.99	5.99	5.99