ANZ lightened reliance on advisers in the March half year

ANZ Bank New Zealand’s reliance on advisers to originate mortgages fell slightly to 59% of net new lending in the six months ended March 31 compared with 61% in the previous first half.

The bank’s Australian parent’s slides showed that 52% of its total mortgage book was originated by advisers at March 31, up from 51% a year earlier and from 48% two years earlier.

The slides also showed that a net 35% of new lending was at variable rates, up from 10% in the previous first half, meaning that at March 31, 12% of total loans were on variable rates compared with 11% a year earlier.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank noted that more borrowers coming off fixed terms have opted to remain on floating rates or very short-term fixed periods because they expect further cuts in the official cash rate (OCR), currently at 3.5%.