Photo: RNZHome loan borrowers are taking cashback incentives to stay with their current banks, as competition continues in the mortgage market. That prompted other lenders to match it, and in some cases offer borrowers incentives to stay, too. Helen Stuart, a mortgage adviser at Compass Mortgages, said she had seen "retention payments" offered by several banks lately, especially when someone had all their lending come off a fixed term. "The number of retention payments we organised was probably higher than the number of refinance deals we concluded. We'll always endeavour to give our customers the most competitive offer - our bankers can sometimes offer cash contributions to existing customers."

Source: New Zealand Herald March 23, 2026 19:11 UTC