Kiwibank ramps up pressure on rivals

Earlier this month, Kiwibank slashed floating rates by 1% in what it called a "market reset". The bank's floating rate, at 3.4%, is 104 basis points lower than the cheapest variable rate at a big four lender.

The Kiwibank boss said enquiries have risen across the board since it cut loan rates. 

He told TMM Online: "Following the move, we have received high volumes of enquiries from both new and existing customers wanting to talk about their home loan options with Kiwibank. Retail home loan enquires are up 30% and SME enquiries are up 20%."

With a considerable price gap between the state-backed bank and its rivals, Jurkovich has ramped up pressure on larger banks to cut rates for New Zealanders.