Westpac NZ trims interest-only loan terms to 5 years

Mon, 11 Jul 2016

By Paul McBeth July 11 (BusinessDesk) - Westpac Banking Corp's New Zealand unit is cutting interest-only lending terms to a maximum of five years, in a market where investors are the driving force. Interest-only loans are often used by property investors who meet the interest repayments and leave the principal untouched on the expectation they can pocket a capital gain on the sale of a house. Westpac has previously allowed terms of up to 15 years but has cut that by two-thirds in the latest response to a build-up of property investor act...

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