State owned Kiwibank has kicked off the year with a limited time "special" home loan offer of 5.99% per annum for four years, undercutting all its main rivals.
Kiwibank says it has cut its four-year home loan rate by 80 basis points to 5.99% from 6.79% today. The lowest four-year rate offered by another bank is the 6.70% on offer from both ASB and the Co-operative Bank, formerly PSIS. See all bank mortgage rates here.
Borrowers wanting to take up the four-year special require a minimum 30% equity deposit, Kiwibank says, and the offer will be available for an unspecified limited time.
In a statement Kiwibank spokesman Bruce Thompson said the bank traditionally likes to kick-start the year with a market-leading rate.
“Over the past couple of years, the competition has been for shorter term lending, but Kiwibank is now offering home owners the opportunity to lock-in a very low rate for a longer period," Thompson said.
“There is considerable uncertainty about interest rates and about the world economies, so this four-year offer gives customers certainty."
Kiwibank began last year with a limited time one-year fixed-term home loan "special" rate by slicing 30 basis points off its one-year rate to 6.15%. The rate was in place for 17 days before returning to 6.45%. That offer didn't, however, require a 30% deposit.
In another of the bank's specials, Kiwibank cut its six-month fixed term rate by 66 basis points to 4.99% on November 17 last year in a move that did require the borrwer to have 30% equity in their property. That offer ran until December 19 with the rate then increased back to 5.65%.
19 Comments
And where is Kiwibank getting the capital from to enable them to imagine up the credit to sell on to peasants to get them buying property to protect the bubble?....lordy lordy from govt of course...yes it's the demand for a capital injection from the Beehive to save Kiwibank.. $100 million leads to $900 million in credit to be sold...and the game goes on.
Remember...Kiwibank is the most leaveraged in the game...what do they care...taxpayers will foot the bailout.
Let's work that out...$900million as 70% of the valuations...err umm err... oh that'll mean about $1200million heading into property...yes some of it will be refi deals...but hey think of the bonus for the boss of the bank....So 1200 divided by say 400k per place...is that 3ooo properties near enough...what will that do to hide the damage being done in the building sector by the gst theft.
Is this a Kiwibank initiative or a govt one!
Think also of this as being the govt using taxpayer money to prop up the bubbles...that's why the private for profit banks are not complaining...it's in their best interests...hahahahaaaa.
You're right Justice..I must start with the lying..follow the govt lead...in you go suckers...borrow all you can...Does nobody in the media circus ask the question where is the new found Kiwibank capital coming from...are we to believe they accumulated it as profit from earlier credit creation based on capital also skimmed off even earlier credit creation....
Remember they have this to call on Wolly - http://www.interest.co.nz/news/53691/state-owned-kiwibank-borrows-nz927…
And here's our bank leverage page - http://www.interest.co.nz/Saving/bank-leverage
Would you be taking this position if the $100 million was private equity? I doubt it. As long as Kiwibank manages its operations well, which it will do as well as any other bank in the market place, then this reduces your taxes due to the return on the investment.
Of course the same inflation (the extra $800 million of leverage which may or may not eventuate) happens equally as much in the case of private equity but apparantly this is not interesting.
The 'for profit' banks (needless to say the government would prefer Kiwibank makes a profit as well) are not complaining because such ignorance diverts attention from the real cause of inflation, and financial bubbles, the financial system. Certain people hate the government but they just love the state.
Might go even lower soon with the big R is looming in Germany
This stokes the market even more so up go house prices, confidence and speculation. Might fire up a few more new builds? When / if the time comes that the wheels come of the financial world and rates go up I think a lot of people will really struggle... try and sell.... negative equity.... Nightmare. Keep the new builds low and immigration high and no off shore wholesale credit issues and property will stay up.
Cheap credit does fuel bubbles, but 5.99% is not exactly cheap credit. The 30% equity requirement has the opposite effect, because it limits buyer leverage. If they wanted 0%, 5% or 10% equity only then I would agree with you totally. I think its also valid to discriminate against borrowers with less equity as well and to discourage too much leverage in this way.
Cheaper long term money, cautious real estate market, flat economy. Investors out of the picture with tiresome threats of CGT, that wont give us a bubble. Sounds like the government is just treading water until they can work out where we are probably headed with global fall out
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