Banks up stakes in the term deposit battle

ASB made the latest play earlier this week when it boosted its five-month terms 110 basis points to 4.60%, just days after ANZ National Bank dropped its rate in this term  100 points to 3.50%.

However ANZ and National opted to take over the six-month space, where they boosted rates 110 points to 4.60%. The banks appear to agree that the top rate for terms under 12 months should be 4.60%.

ANZ joins stablemate National Bank in seeking six-month term deposits, while the five-month space is being fought over by ASB, Bank of New Zealand and Westpac.

KiwiBank is sitting on its own in the four-month space.