ANZ is currently allowing customers with small deposits to apply to have low equity premiums/fees on home loans waived.
CEO Antonia Watson says “the market is especially competitive at the moment and I think one of the reasons for that is that there’s less flow. So there’s a smaller base and everyone wants to grow their balance sheet, so everyone is fiercely competing.”
It’s important to note that this is not a policy change, but a temporary measure.
The ANZ Low Equity Premium
With ANZ a low equity premium (or fee) may apply where a loan amounts to more than 80% of the property’s value.
ANZ NZ’s standard low equity fees are:
For an 80.01% to 85.00% loan to value ratio – 0.25% of the loan amount.
For an 85.01% to 90.00% loan to value ratio – 0.75% of the loan amount.
And for a loan-to-value ratio over 90.01% – 2.00% of the loan amount.
Obviously ANZ want to capture more of the first home buyer market where they have now been competitive and this is a small step in the right direction.
Maybe they will look at introducing a special interest rate too.
