Interest rates: Banks pass on more OCR increase to borrowers than savers, FMA data show

Variable mortgage rates rose by the full Official Cash Rate rise, while savings rates lagged.

New data from the Financial Markets Authority show that home loan borrowers on variable interest rates have felt the full impact of the most recent Official Cash Rate increase – but savers have not.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has been tracking interest rate changes and the time taken for them to affect new and existing customers with floating rate mortgages and on-call accounts.

It said it requested information from eight financial institutions that provided 98% of the housing loans in New Zealand.

Its data showed that all banks passed on at least the entire 25-basis-point Official Cash Rate (OCR) increase from earlier this month to their floating home loan rates.

The Co-operative Bank passed on slightly more.

Banks had also increased their fixed home loan rates.