Westpac says 65% of mortgage customers more than 3 months ahead of repayments

Chief executive Catherine McGrath told GoodRetruns that only about 22% of Westpac's customers are still on fixed-rate mortgages below 5%.

“That means we're through the bulk of the big interest rate increases,” McGrath said, adding that any increases from now “should be smaller and more manageable.”

Wages inflation in NZ has helped some customers weather the rise in interest rates and the fact that most mortgage customers have been on fixed-rate terms has meant that they've had plenty of warning their costs would increase, McGrath said.

Other details in the results, including that interest-only mortgages fell to 16% of the portfolio, down from 16.5% six months earlier, suggested customers weren't needing the kind of relief Westpac could offer.