Banks drop sweeteners used to lure borrowers

BNZ, Kiwibank, Westpac and TSB Bank have all stopped offering thousands of dollars in cash to attract home buyers. Photo / File

At least four banks have quietly dropped cash incentives aimed at wooing home loan customers.

The move comes after cut-throat "mortgage wars", where banks have jostled with increasingly lower interest rates to compete for customers.

BNZ, Kiwibank, Westpac and TSB Bank have all stopped offering thousands of dollars in cash to attract home buyers. But some are still promoting the sweeteners, with ANZ, SBS Bank and The Co-operative Bank offering up to $2000.

At the same time ASB continues to offer a "healthy cash bonus for lending over $100,000 for a limited time", indicating it would match rivals.

Only HSBC has not changed its status, which has been to not offer a cash lure.

However, it appears while there might not be a formal offer, banks will still match a rival to win or keep a customer.

BNZ spokeswoman Katherine Cornish said the bank stopped advertising cash-backs in January, when its last cash incentive campaign ended.

"We have been focused on Fly Buys options since then and interest rates, which our customers tell us is of utmost importance over incentives," she said. "However, if a customer comes into BNZ we will review on a case-by-case basis relevant to the value of the customer."

Kiwibank spokesman Bruce Thompson said theirs was a short-term promotion while Haley Ritchie of Westpac said its offer finished last month.

Money website interest.co.nz said clients who used a mortgage broker should ensure the broker is maximising such possibilities.

Cash incentive offers burst on to the mortgage market about two years ago, taking over from cash to cover lawyers' fees or in some cases bonus wide-screen smart TVs. Some banks even used tactics such as paying break fees to win business.

Now, it seems banks are going for lower interest rates over longer terms, potentially offering consumers a chance to cut thousands off their mortgage and pay them off faster. In February TSB announced a 10-year fixed-rate home loan at 5.89 per cent on a 20 per cent deposit, edging out an earlier move by Kiwibank to offer the same fixed-rate over five years.

Squirrel Mortgages mortgage broker John Bolton said though many banks had moved away from promoting cash sweeteners, there was still an ability to negotiate one.