Kiwibank is the last major to cut home loan rates, and it cuts the least possible to just match the highest levels of any of the big four Aussie banks. It trims term deposit rates too

Kiwibank has kicked off September with its version of the recent home loan rate cuts. They may not be market-leading but they are notable all the same - for their me-too levels.

Kiwibank is not fighting the mortgage war with market leading rates - it is battling to win the affection of mortgage brokers.

Industry sources suggest close to 90% of Kiwibank's new business flow currently comes from mortgage brokers.

This is far higher than any of the other main banks. ANZ, BNZ and Westpac are transparent with the level of home loan business won through the broker community. But ASB and Kiwibank are not. And both of them have outsized flows from mortgage brokers.

You have to wonder how this works. Neither Kiwibank nor ASB offer carded rates that are especially competitive.

But Kiwibank especially, is winning market share despite those lackluster price offerings.

Clearly their offerings to brokers (commissions) are moving the needle for them. We detailed the winners and losers in the mortgage market share battles to June in this review.

Home owning mortgage clients should ensure they understand what they are being offered by their mortgage broker if they use one. Who is it the best deal for? There are about 7000 mortgage brokers registered with the FMA, but only about 2000 have signed up to an industry group that insists of proper professional standards. The FMA requires brokers to use proper fiduciary standards when dealing with their clients which involves putting their clients interest first.

However, there are fair questions to be asked when the fastest growth in mortgage business is with the bank with the fastest growth in business with brokers, but is the last bank to reduce rates and when it does they are just me-too. This observation not only applies to Kiwibank, but to ASB as well to some extent

Today's rate cuts by Kiwibank leave their carded rates mid-pack for 6 months fixed, the same as all the other main banks for one year fixed, and the highest of any main bank for two years fixed.

They now also have their highest carded rates for fixed terms of 3, 4, and 5 years.

Of course, there is more to a mortgage rate decision than just the rate. There are application or account fees, maybe break fees,, and banks now offer a range of incentives - usually cash incentives - that need to be taken into consideration. Independent advice can be helpful for borrowers who are not confident with have these numbers all relate to each other.

To help borrowers (and brokers), we are about to release a new tool that will estimate an effective interest rate after those costs and incentives are also taken into account. Check back after 10:30am today (Monday) for the release.

We sense that the ability to achieve meaningful discounts from carded rates is now much harder, so the impact of the incentives offered are currently playing an outsized rosle. Reader-reported mortgage rates are welcome, so please record them if you have them. We need you to record them in the comment section below, which helps us stay on top of this aspect of the home loan rates market.

And still negotiate. How flexible banks may be will depend on the strength of your financials.

One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below.

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.

Here is the 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 September 1, 2025	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	4.99	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.59	5.59
	5.04	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.29	5.49
	5.09	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.95	5.09	5.39
	5.05 -0.04	4.75 -0.04		4.79 -0.10	5.05 -0.10	5.39 -0.20	5.59 -0.20
	5.09	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.95	5.09	5.39
Bank of China	4.98	4.68	4.68	4.78	4.88	5.35	5.35
China Construction Bank	5.09	4.79	4.79	4.89	4.95	5.99	5.99
Co-operative Bank (*=FHB only)	4.99	4.65*	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.39	5.49
ICBC	5.09	4.55	4.79	4.89	4.99	5.35	5.39
(*=FHB only)	5.19	3.99*	4.79	4.89	5.09	5.39	5.39
	5.09	4.75	4.99	4.75	4.99	5.39	5.49