Westpac has blinked first in the home loan interest rate war, upping its fixed term interest rates for 18 month and 30 month loans.
"As signalled earlier in the month, in the wake of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's view of the likely future course of the Official Cash Rate (OCR), Westpac believes that the current `price war' is not sustainable and that a lead needs to be taken in returning fixed rates to more long-term, sustainable levels," the bank said in a statement.
Westpac's 18 month rate will rise 0.41% to 7.40% per annum while the 30 month rate will go up 0.46% to 7.65%. Westpac's two-year rate of 7.40% remained unchanged. The new rates become effective as of 5pm today. The Bank of New Zealand sparked the price war in October with an `Unbeatable' campaign, which has seen its two-year fixed rate fall to 6.9%, while ASB and ANZ both dropped their two-year rates to 6.95%.
