Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard left rates unchanged as expected but surprised many in the market by explicitly leaving the door open to further rate cuts if the New Zealand dollar remains strong.

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard is universally expected to leave interest rates unchanged but he may be concerned the market has already priced in several rate hikes during the first half of 2010.

A number of economists have been warning the boost to the housing market from the dramatic fall in mortgage rates through last year to March this year was always going to peter out.

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard is unlikely to change interest rates when he next reviews his official cash rate (OCR) on July 30.

There have been no home loan rate changes in the past week, but plenty of suggestions from the Reserve Bank and the Prime Minister some rates are too high. In this week's MortgageWatch Jenny Ruth looks at what are the best deals in the market.

The past week has been relatively quiet with only a handful of smaller lenders making changes to their mortgage rates.

SBS Bank's net profit grew strongly in the March quarter even as its charges for bad loans jumped and its mortgage book increased marginally.

Westpac New Zealand's March quarter net profit fell 75% as charges for bad loans soared but its mortgage lending rose strongly.

The overall result for ANZ's New Zealand operations, including its subsidiary ANZ National Bank and the newly registered ANZ New Zealand branch, saw its bottom line profit drop 30.9% to $422 million for the six months ended March.

Far from refusing to pass on cuts in the Reserve Bank's official cash rate (OCR) to mortgage borrowers, the major banks in New Zealand have cut their profit margins to pass on those OCR cuts, according to analysis by Westpac economists.

TSB Bank's cut to its two-year fixed mortgage rate was the stand-out move in the market over the last week.

The National Australia Bank-owned Bank of New Zealand's mortgage book grew strongly in the March quarter after shrinking slightly in the previous three months.

New Zealand's largest bank, ANZ National Bank saw its profit drop sharply in the March quarter as charges for impaired loans soared.

This week at last saw a move down in one lender's floating mortgage rate but neither Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard nor the politicians are likely to be dancing in the streets over it.

Interest rates jumped and the New Zealand dollar soared after Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard left interest rates unchanged, even though his statement emphasised the economic risks remain weighted to the downside and the high currency is "unhelpful."

The banks should be forced to disclose the profit margins on their mortgage books, says Geoff Bawden of Prosper Group, formerly Moneyworkz, and immediate past chairman of the New Zealand Mortgage Brokers Association.