TSB cuts its 6 month mortgage rate to a record low of 5.35% (Update 1)

TSB Bank has lowered its 6 month fixed mortgage rate to 5.35% from 5.50%, effective September 10, 2009. (Updated to correct rate history.) This change comes on the eve of the Reserve Bank review of its official cash rate, and its Monetary Policy Statement. 5.35% is the lowest mortgage rate on offer in New Zealand at this time. This is the lowest mortgage rate ever reported on this website, we believe. Short term fixed mortgage rates are lower now that at any time during the 2003-2004 so-called "mortgage war". In fact, Kevin Murphy, deputy CEO of TSB Bank confirmed to interest.co.nz that this is the lowest rate they have ever offered "and our records go back more than 40 years." "We have the lowest 2 year fixed rate in the market at 6.35%," he said, also noting that they have noticed recent demand for terms shorter than 2 years. TSB is not expecting any change to the OCR tomorrow, and are not expecting any imminent change to their variable mortgage rate. Readers memories are better than ours; rates were lower in the November - December 2001 period. BNZ had a rate of 4.99% for 6 months, and ANZ had one even lower - 4.95% also for 6 months. And again this year, BNZ's Classic fixed 6 month rate was 4.99% in February and March of 2009. A full list of mortgage rates can be found here >>>