Kiwibank leads the rate cutting following the RBNZ OCR -25 bps reduction. ASB also cut fixed rates making its whole rate card market-leading - for now. ANZ cuts too, now Westpac

The first bank to move after the August Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate review was Kiwibank, cutting its floating rate by a matching 25 basis points (bps) to 8.25%. It also cut business lending rates by the same amount, along with similar cuts to Notice Saver and online savings accounts.

ASB has quickly followed with a similar 25 bps cut, and it has cut some fixed rates too. But those don't become effective until August 20.

We should note ANZ made its cut on July 31 of 15 bps to their floating rate taking it to 8.49%. And now ANZ has taken another 10 bps off it to 8.39% matching ASB. Other ANZ floating rates, including for savers, will be falling too.

Westpac has chimed in with its own -25 bps cuts to floating home lending rates, and has also cut its Notice Saver, and bonus saver rates.

Almost all banks will have some flexibility in their rate offers. So the carded rates are just the start. Negotiate. How flexible they may be will depend on the strength of your financials. And don't forget, banks have savvy tools at hand to 'know' the likely valuation of your property, so if the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is near 80% you may not find them very accommodating for a lower rate. With falling house prices, the point where low equity premiums start applying is shifting around as well. See this.

And the carded rates we report here can be different to the rates banks might offer in their banking app. We would like readers to reveal what their banking app shows as the potential offer rates. Please add that market intelligence in the comment section below.

A quick check of the wholesale swap rate chart below gives a clear understanding of where funding costs are heading.

One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below. Term deposit rates can be assessed using this calculator.

And if you already have a fixed term mortgage that is not up for renewal at this time, our break fee calculator may help you assess your options. Break fees will be minimal in a rising market. But they become important in a falling market.

Here is the updated snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment.

Fixed, below 80% LVR	6 mths	1 yr	18 mth	2 yrs	3 yrs	4 yrs	5 yrs
as at August 14, 2024	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.34	5.99	6.84	6.84
from Aug 20	6.89 -0.10	6.59 -0.26	6.15 -0.34	5.99 -0.26	5.89 -0.10	5.89 -0.10	5.89 -0.10
	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.34	5.99	5.99	5.99
	6.99	6.75		6.34	6.09	6.09	6.09
	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.19	5.99	5.99	5.99
Bank of China	6.95	6.79	6.59	6.39	6.09	6.09	6.09
China Construction Bank	7.19	7.09	6.89	6.75	6.49	6.40	6.40
Co-operative Bank	6.99	6.79	6.49	6.29	5.99	6.09	6.09
Heartland Bank		6.69	6.49	6.35	6.15
ICBC	7.05	6.85	6.65	6.49	6.39	6.29	6.29
	6.99	6.85	6.49	5.99	5.99	5.99	5.99
	6.99	6.69 -0.16	6.65 -0.24	6.25 -0.24	5.99 -0.40	5.99 -0.40	5.99 -0.40