First $40m of RBNZ's FLP drawn down

First $40m of RBNZ's FLP drawn down
Staff reporters
The first drawdown under the Reserve Bank's funding-for-lending programme was made on Friday when $40 million was paid out five days after the scheme began.The FLP, which opened on Dec. 7, aims to help keep interest rates low by offering banks up to $28 billion of alternative cheap funding.Banks can borrow up to 6 percent of their total outstanding lending for three years at the same rate as the official cash rate, currently 0.25 percent.The four major banks and Kiwibank are currently offering depositors between 0.85 percent and 0.9 percent...