ANZ raises some deposit and lending interest rates

The country's biggest bank is raising some deposit and lending interest rates in response to the Reserve Bank's increase in the cash rate.

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

ANZ is raising floating and flexible home loans, business floating rates, and overdrafts by the full quarter percentage point, the same as the RBNZ rise.

ANZ general manager for personal banking Ben Kelleher said rates were still relatively low, but inflation and expected further increases by the Reserve Bank mean retail rates will keep rising.

"While rising interest rates will seem daunting for borrowers who haven't experienced it before, it's important to remember that they are still at relatively low levels and bank affordability assessments take into account that they may change over the term of a loan."

"The area for people to keep an eye on in the coming months is the impact of rising inflation on their other costs," Kelleher said.

The RBNZ has signalled it expects to keep steadily increasing the official cash rate to combat inflation, with a forecast of about 2.5 percent by the end of this year, and to as high as 3.5 percent going into 2025.

Kelleher said customers who had concerns, or needed to talk about their finances, should contact the bank.

ANZ's new floating mortgage rate will be 5.04 percent, applying from 1 March for new loans and mid-March for existing mortgages, and was also raising some of its deposit rates.

The other large retail banks have floating rates just below 5 percent.

Fixed loan rates, which have risen markedly over the past nine months, are unaffected by the latest rise. They are driven by changes in wholesale interest rates.

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has warned that rising interest rates and falling house prices could result in some heavily indebted households facing negative equity, where their debt level is higher than the value of their house.