Westpac raises some mortgage rates, cuts longer rates

Westpac raises some mortgage rates, cuts longer rates
Staff reporters
Westpac New Zealand has become the second of the major banks to increase its floating mortgage rate for the first time since December but has upped the ante by cutting its three-to-five-year fixed rates.Matching ANZ Bank NZ’s new rate announced on Wednesday, Westpac has lifted its floating rate by 40 basis points to 8.39%.Floating rates normally tend to move with the Reserve Bank of NZ’s (RBNZ) official cash rate (OCR) which it has hiked twice since December to 5.25%.Westpac’s “special” six-month fixed mortgage rat...