ASB changes term deposit rates, some up, some down, but ensuring key offers still top or match their main rivals. Changes come despite little wholesale pressure

Update: This story has been updated with a correctiion as to who has the market leading one year term deposit rate.

ASB's website has made some changes to its term deposit rates today.

They have raised their offers for nine and twelve months, but lowered them for terms of six months, two years and longer.

For six months, they have cut -10 bps to offer a new rate of 3.25% for that duration.

For nine and twelve months, their rates are +5 bps higher at 3.45% and 3.50% respectively.

For all rates for two years and longer, their rates have been cut by -10 bps. Their PIE rates all changed by the same amount as well.

Update: ASB's new 3.50% one year rate matches the existing BNZ rate for that term, both now with the highest carded offer from any of the five largest banks and matching challenger bank SBS Bank. Heartland Bank has the market leading offer of 3.60% for a one year term.

And despite the drops, the new rates still allow ASB to top offered rates from New Zealand's largest bank, ANZ, for terms longer than 6 months.

But the downgrade from 3.35% for six months to 3.25% does remove a key advantage for this term among the five larges retail banks.

These changes come after it launched a particularly attractive one year mortgage rate of 4.30% on February 16, 2018. This rate is still the most competitive one year fixed home loan rate from any bank except HSBC Premier.

The last time ASB made term deposit rate changes were a round of reductions in the week ended February 16, 2018.

These changes come after a period of 'dead calm' in wholesale markets for the durations affected. Today's adjustments seem to be more about positioning against rivals than wholesale pressures. They may also indicate there is only modest loan demand at present.

For higher rates, you need to assess the offers of institutions with a lower credit rating. Rate offers rise significantly from non-bank institutions with sub-investment grade ("junk") credit ratings.

Using our deposit calculator to figure exactly how much benefit each option is worth you can assess the value of more or less frequent interest payment terms, and the PIE products, comparing two situations side by side.

All carded, or advertised, term deposit rates for all financial institutions for terms of less than one year are here, and for terms of one-to-five years are here.

Term PIE rates are here.

The latest headline rate offers are in this table. Most of today's Westpac changes are to rates that don't affect those revealed in this table.

for a $25,000 deposit	Rating	3/4 mths	5/6/7 mths	8/9 mths	1 yr	18 mths	2 yrs	3 yrs
Main banks
	AA-	3.00	3.25	3.30	3.40	3.50	3.65	3.80
	AA-	3.00	3.25	3.45	3.50	3.60	3.70	3.80
	AA-	3.00	3.25	3.35	3.50	3.60	3.65	3.75
Kiwibank	A	3.00	3.30	3.35	3.45		3.70	3.85
	AA-	3.00	3.25	3.35	3.40	3.50	3.65	3.80
Other banks
	BBB	2.95	3.30	3.35	3.45	3.65	3.75	3.90
	BBB	3.10	3.45	3.60	3.60	3.70	3.80	3.85
HSBC Premier	AA-	2.50	2.80	2.80	2.90		2.90	3.00
ICBC	A	2.95	3.25	3.55	3.35	3.75	3.85	3.95
	A	2.80	3.30	3.30	3.35	3.65	3.80	3.90
	BBB	3.30	3.30	3.40	3.50	3.65	3.85	4.00
	A-	3.00	3.15	3.20	3.25	3.65	3.85	4.05
Selected fincos
	B*				5.18	5.25	5.60	5.70
Liberty Finance	BBB-	3.60	3.95	4.25	4.30	4.35	4.40	4.45
UDC	BBB	2.95	3.45	3.75	3.80	3.75	3.85	3.85
	* = these credit ratings in this review that are not investment grade.

Rates in this table are the highest offered by each institution for the terms listed. You however will need to check how often interest is credited or paid. That important factor is not filtered in the above table and rates with various interest payment/credit arrangements are mixed here. However, our full tables do disclose the offer basis.

Our unique term deposit calculator can help quantify what each offer will net you.