Bank continues unusual behaviour

The Bank of New Zealand hasn’t done anything normal in the home loan market for many years; and it doesn’t seem to have changed its ways recently.

The bank created headlines a number of years ago with its “Unbeatable” campaign. During this campaign it was the market leader pushing fixed rates, particularly in the two year space, down.

Part of the driver for the campaign was its decision not to distribute its home loans through mortgage brokers, even though brokers grew to control 40% of the market.

The logic for this move was from what you could call a domestic between the bank and brokers where it wouldn’t allow them to sell its popular Global Plus loan product which offered borrowers Air New Zealand Airpoints dollars.