NZ banks pass on OCR hike to mortgage rates

Three more New Zealand banks, BNZ, ASB, and Kiwibank, have passed on the Reserve Bank's 25-basis-point official cash rate increase to customers, following similar moves by Westpac and ANZ. Kiwibank raised its variable home loan and offset variable rates by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, while its revolving loan rate rose to 6.3 percent. BNZ and ASB also applied the full increase to variable housing rates, with ASB adding 10 basis points to its Headstart product. The Reserve Bank criticized banks for limited pass-through of higher wholesale rates to term deposits, which keeps funding cheaper for lenders. Economist Brad Olsen said more balanced transmission between mortgage and savings rates would better signal desired spending and investment behavior.