Westpac stays competitive for its two year fixed mortgage rate, but increases for other fixed terms lessen that advantage unless you look at four and five year fixed rates

Westpac have announced fixed home loan rate changes that will be effective from Friday, May 22, 2026.

Most fixed terms will be raised, except their 6 month rate and their two year rate.

As a result, they will still have the highest carded six month rate in the market.

Their new one year 4.79% rate will now become the highest of any bank for that fixed term.

Their new higher eighteen month rate will also be a market high and the first to go over 5% in this cycle, for that term.

Their unchanged two year rate however will be competitive, equal lowest among the main banks with BNZ.

Their new higher three year rate will now match ANZ and ASB, but be lower than Kiwibank's equivalent.

Their new four and five year fixed rates are the lowest among the main banks, matching BNZ.

At the same time, Westpac is raising its term deposit offers. While the mortgage rate offers are in the meat of the market activity zone, their new TD rates aren't.

Westpac's one year TD rate increase is only +5 bps and only matches SBS Bank and BNZ. The rates for terms two year and longer are up +10 bps or +20 bps but there is little demand at that end of the maturity profile, so competitiveness means little.

Where our fixed rates go from here will depend on a number of indirect moving parts. Foreign influences are key, but local influences are still important.

The latest RBNZ data shows robust mortgage loan demand, far more resilient than for business borrowing or rural borrowing. And this comes as the real estate market falls away on a seasonal basis for new transactions, and displays weakness on a price basis.

The other big influence locally is inflation (both consumer and producer). The RBNZ will be watching with concern and although markets don't expect any OCR rate hike at the May 27 review, they do expect rates to rise from current levels at the following review, and maybe the five consecutive reviews thereafter, pricing for an eventual OCR at 3.50% in a year. Remember, the OCR is currently only at 2.25%.

Influences from outside the country are pretty clear as well. And these could see fixed rates for 1 year and longer rises sooner than the RBNZ's influences.

All these pointers suggest our interest rates will rise over the next year. So borrowers who 'wait' could well be facing higher repayments.

To compare mortgage rate offers in a way that includes the application and account fees costs, (or break fee costs if you need to do that), and applying the impact of a cashback/legal fee reimbursement, or other incentives, you can use our home loan comparison calculator. You can find it here. Or, for convenience, we have added it to the bottom of this article.

Negotiate, (even with your mortgage broker). How flexible banks may be will depend on the strength of your financials.

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

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.

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 May 22, 2026	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	4.49	4.69	4.99	5.29	5.49	6.19	6.29
	4.49	4.65	4.95	5.25	5.49	5.69	5.89
	4.49	4.65	4.95	5.19	5.39	5.59	5.79
	4.49	4.75		5.29	5.55	5.89	5.99
	4.69	4.79 +0.10	5.09 +0.10	5.19	5.49 +0.14	5.59 +0.20	5.79 +0.20
Bank of China	4.38	4.48	4.68	4.78	5.08	5.38	5.58
China Construction Bank	4.40	4.49	4.49	4.54	4.90	5.10	5.20
Co-operative Bank	4.59	4.65	4.99	5.29	5.49	5.75	5.89
ICBC	4.39	4.49	4.65	4.89	5.15	5.45	5.65
	4.49	4.69	4.95	5.19	5.39 +0.10	5.55	5.69
	4.59	4.69	5.09	5.25	5.49	5.89	5.99