The Reserve Bank will keep interest rates on hold for some time in the face of the lacklustre economic recovery and contained inflationary pressures, according to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER).

House prices are likely to rise further all year but the strength will only last until mortgage rates start rising, according to Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens.

The housing market is buzzing, if not quite on fire. But it's the Auckland and quake-affected Christchurch markets which are to blame while markets in the rest of the country remain subdued.

National house prices rose 4.2% over the past year with values rising in all major centres, according to Quotable Value.

Kiwibank has bought the remaining 24% of New Zealand Home Loans it doesn't already own.

Z Energy, which owns the former Shell operations, is going ahead with an up to $150 million offer of seven-year senior retail bonds.

Kiwibank, which kicked off the latest mortgage rate war in late April, has launched another “special” offer.

TrustPower is planning to sell up to $200 million in subordinated retail bonds which will be stock exchange-listed.

Blue Star Group is looking at selling all or parts of its business but has warned its listed bonds may already be worthless.

The price war between banks in fixed-rate mortgages is starting to shift borrowers out of floating rates.

The $885,000 Nathans Finance directors were ordered to pay in reparation will go the the receivers for the benefit of all out-of-pocket investors, a High Court judge has ruled.

The March quarter was a bumper one for mortgage lending with total lending by all banks jumping to $1.39 billion compared with just $0.32 billion in the December quarter and $0.8 billion in the September quarter last year.

Former World Bank and New Zealand Treasury official Graeme Wheeler will succeed Alan Bollard as governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Former World Bank and New Zealand Treasury official Graeme Wheeler will succeed Alan Bollard as governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Australia-based non-bank lender Resimac has launched its first suite of home loans in the New Zealand market, a joint-venture with the Loan Market aggregation group called Economy Home Loans.

The Co-operative Bank's mortgage book grew by about the same as it market share in the March quarter while its profitability improved as charges against profit for bad loans receeded.