ASB bank lowers fixed mortgage lending rates, matches other lenders after Official Cash Rate cut

ASB has lowered its fixed mortgage lending rates, the last of the five main banks to do so since the Reserve Bank’s latest Official Cash Rate cut.

The bank’s standard one-year and 18-month rates were 4.75% this morning, down from 4.79%.

The two-year rate is also 4.75%, down from 4.89%, and the three-year rate 4.99%, down from 5.09%.

The four-year rate is 5.29% and the five-year rate is 5.49%, from 5.49% and 5.59% respectively.

Fixing for six months is set at 5.04%, down from 5.12%. The floating rate is unchanged at 6.29%.

A member of the NZ Mortgage Rates Facebook page posted about the drops last night, alerting others with mortgages at the bank.

“Oooo I must check mine, I am also with ASB and due to refix in two weeks”, replied one.

The four other main banks have already dropped their rates after the OCR was cut by 25 basis points (bps) from 3.25% to 3% on Wednesday last week.

Interest rates falling

On Tuesday, BNZ dropped all its fixed mortgage lending rates except the six-month term.

The standard one-year, 18-month and two-year rates are all now 4.75%, the first two falling from 4.79% and the two year rate from 4.89%.

The three-year rate was also reduced 0.04 to 4.95%.

Both the four and five-year rates had larger drops of between 0.2 and 0.3% to settle at 5.09% for four years and 5.39% for five years.

The six-month term remained unchanged at 5.09%.

The bank dropped some of its variable home loan rates, with the standard variable rate down 15bps to 6.29%.

Its Total Money, Mortgage One and Rapid Repay variable rates fell 15bps to 6.39%.

The day after last week’s OCR cut also saw other major banks drop their fixed and floating lending rates.

Westpac trimmed 4bps off its one-year, 18-month and three-year fixed-term special rates and 20bps off its two-year rate.

Its one-year, 18-month and two-year special rates were now 4.75% – a new low for the mortgage rate market.

Westpac, ANZ and Kiwibank also dropped their flexible and floating lending rates, but only by 20bps.

ANZ cut its floating mortgage rate and business flexible loan rate to 6.29%.

Kiwibank dropped its variable home loan rates by 20bps to 6.15% and its revolving loan to 6.30%.