More pain for 'credit boomers'

Personal loans are beginning to go the same way as your mortgage.

The big Aussie-owned banks are starting to lift interest rates on personal loans which, unlike mortgage rates, rarely move in line with rate hikes by the Reserve Bank.

From November 1, National Bank is raising interest rates on its credit cards, and that will hit customers in the pocket. The BNZ is also changing charges for its Activator card. And the ASB has increased its interest rates for personal loans.

The emerging pattern of rising costs for the "credit boomers" - a generation grown used to easy finance - breaks many years of stable rates, according to rates watcher David Chaston of www.interest.co.nz.

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