5 Feb 2025

Westpac cuts home loan rates below 5%

4:49 pm on 5 February 2025
Sydney, Australia - June 26, 2016: Close-up of Westpac signage. Westpac is one of the four largest banks in Australia.

Photo: 123rf

It's been a while since New Zealand home loan borrowers have seen interest rates starting with a four.

But Westpac said on Wednesday it was bringing them back - advertising a three-year home loan rate of 4.99 percent.

It said it was the first of the major banks to offer a sub-5 percent rate this cycle.

The new rate is a 60 basis point cut on the current special and will be available from Friday.

Westpac general manager of product, sustainability and marketing Sarah Hearn said the bank was committed to helping homeowners reach their goals sooner.

"We know that customers take different approaches, some watch the market closely and fix for short periods while others want certainty over a longer period."

She said she was conscious that there would be an impact on term deposit customers.

"We're doing our best to balance our offerings across our customer base."

The bank's one-year rate drops to 5.54 percent, down 5 basis points, and the two-year rate to 5.29 percent, down 10.

Reserve Bank data indicates the last time a rate below 5 percent was standard for a three-year term was in 2022.

The Reserve Bank is expected to cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points this month, but there had been concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs could mean fewer rate cuts beyond that.

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