The growth of the mortgage adviser channel in recent years means consumers have more choice when selecting an intermediary to advise on the best home loan deal for them.

HSBC has decided to withdraw from the wealth management and retail banking markets in New Zealand following a strategic review, which considered both these operations' relatively small scale and the increasing amount of regulation.

May next year is the deadline for the four major banks to be ready to implement open banking but they may be ready before that, says Payments NZ chief executive Steve Wiggins.

Kiwibank senior economist Mary Jo Vergara thinks the current migration surge is largely a story of pent-up demand and flows should ease back over the coming year.

Heartland Bank's online mortgage product could soon be facing greater competition as early as May next year when the four major banks have to be ready for open banking.

The country may just have avoided a recession over the summer, say Kiwibank economists Jarrod Kerr and Mary Jo Vergara.

Primary objectives property investors typically weigh up when it comes to investing are yields or capital growth.

Another major player in the mortgage broking industry agrees that there's been an uplift in enquiries from first-home buyers in the last six weeks but says its too early to attribute that to the Reserve Bank easing its loan-to-valuation (LVR) restrictions.

Mortgage advisers are reporting an uptick in enquiries from first-home buyers following the Reserve Bank easing its loan-to-valuation (LVR) restrictions from June 1 in the area that most affected first-home buyers.

Property investors in the Bay of Plenty need more than $40,000 on top of the average income to avoid mortgage stress.

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