BNZ cuts to the chase

The mortgage war raging between the four major banks is being led by the Bank of NZ, which is promising to beat any two-year fixed rate.

The opening of the BNZ's price-cutting spring home loan campaign last week was quickly followed by rate cuts at the ANZ, ASB, TSB, HSBC, Superbank and Kiwibank.

The biggest movers were the ANZ, which dropped its two-year fixed rate home loan from 7.75 per cent to 7.35 per cent, and the ASB, which cut the same fixed rate from 7.4 per cent to 7.2 per cent.

That prompted another move from the BNZ, which trimmed its two-year fixed rate home loan from 7.4 per cent to 7.15 per cent late on Friday.

BNZ business development and strategy general manager Andrew Whitechurch thinks the rate cutting will continue this week - and picks rates could dip below 7 per cent.

"It is possible," he said yesterday, adding the BNZ did not have to pay commission up front to brokers, thus allowing it room to move. "We're keen to grow our home loan business."