Kiwibank one-year special to rise

The lender has had its sub 4 percent offer in the market for two weeks but has chosen to lift the rate to 4.19 percent on Monday.

The rate would still be one of the cheapest on offer, alongside the SBS Special. HSBC's Premier is the cheapest in the market at 3.99 percent but is only available to customers eligible for its Premier membership club. In contrast the most expensive one-year rates in the market include Heartland's 7 percent one-year loan.

Kiwibank's standard rate moves up to 4.69 percent next week. It follows a quiet period for rate changes as lenders calculate a response to recent dovish language from the Reserve Bank. 

Kiwibank economists Jarrod Kerr and Jeremy Couchman pushed back their forecast rate hike from August 2019 to May 2020. Like many in the market they expect rates to be "lower, for longer". The economists said: "The risk of rate moves over the next 12 months is weighted more towards cuts than hikes. And financial markets will price the risk of rate cuts accordingly. The good news here is interest rates and exchange rates will remain lower for much longer, assisting growth."