Christina Leung: NZIER Principal Economist on banks lifting test mortgage rates - Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Banks have recently been making it harder for home-buyers to get a mortgage. 

Two of the biggest banks in the country, ASB and ANZ have lifted their test mortgage rates. ASB has raised theirs to 8.13 percent and ANZ is currently at 7.95 percent. 

NZIER Principal Economist, Christina Leung, is here with us to explain why this is the case. 

"With the rising interest rate environment, banks have to increase the test rates in order to ensure that borrowers have to buffer to withstand any negative shocks, such as a further increase in interest rate."

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