Lender ASB believes there will be a “mild” tightening cycle at the Reserve Bank, with floating and fixed rate mortgages expected to remain stable until the end of next year.

Adviser group Mortgage Express has bolstered its Auckland team with the appointment of Ray Gong, a multilingual adviser who will spearhead the company's push for Chinese clients.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's proposals to make advisers publicly disclose commission have proven unpopular, yet one Kiwi lender would like to see advisers go even further.

The Co-operative Bank has shared out $2.1 million of profit with customers as part of its annual rebates payout.

A fall in construction activity contributed to a slowdown in New Zealand’s economy in the three months to March.

Hamish Patel of Mortgagesonline.co.nz, has warned that proposals to make advisers disclose commission could “skew things towards lenders” and leave the industry on an uneven playing field.

The government’s latest data on housing affordability reveals a growing number of first time buyers have “below average income” after housing costs.

Documenting ethical standards, “competence, knowledge and skills” and proving experience are among the key issues raised by advisers to the Code Working Group developing the new code of conduct for the financial advice industry.

ANZ has seen a near five-fold increase in the number of borrowers using KiwiSaver funds for a home deposit.

Two of the biggest banks in New Zealand have made adjustments to their loan servicing criteria in recent weeks, amid toughening conditions for loan applicants

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has confirmed the second phase of a review into the Reserve Bank Act will look at its macro-prudential toolkit, likely to include debt-to-income ratios for home loans.

Hawke's Bay credit union NZCU Baywide has increased its LVR limit to 95% and will now lend up to $600,000.

Peer to peer lender Southern Cross Partners has seen an increase in investor demand as first time buyers struggle to finance new-build properties.

A new transparency report from the Commerce Commission has highlighted some of the excessive “establishment fees” charged by New Zealand’s non-bank mortgage lenders.

Non-bank lender General Finance and sister company Investment Research Group are set to join the stock market after agreeing a deal with a listed shell company. 

The Property Institute of New Zealand has suggested a rethink of government housing policy in the wake of a new report that claims first time buyers dominated the market over the past five years.