NZCU Baywide to offer 95% mortgages

The credit union is not a registered bank and is exempt from the Reserve Bank's LVR restrictions. It has chosen to increase its self-imposed LVR restriction from 90 per cent to 95 per cent. 

NZCU has also chosen to raise its lending cap from $400,000 to $600,000. 

The credit union's bold move comes as non-banks seize the initiative and ramp up lending, as banks retrench from the market. Advisers have noted the major lenders have begun to make it more difficult for borrowers with stricter servicing tests and internal limits on lending. 

Non-bank lenders including Bluestone and RESIMAC have accelerated efforts to win business from the big banks. Non-banks lent $2.2 billion in mortgage loans in April, compared to $1.8 billion in April 2017 and $1.4 billion in April 2016.