House Prices

Credit ratings worth noting

Q: My wife 64, and I, 60, have always had a conservative approach to financial matters and although we did dabble with WiNZ, TENZ and BIL (and similar) some years ago, and did exit these with a profit, we think that sharemarket investments carry too much risk for us.

Consequently, we find ourselves with bank term deposits of about $35,000 and an investment with Fisher & Paykel

Sunday, September 19th 2004

Finance (Secured 1st Ranking Debenture Stock) of $60,000.

F&P Finance pays a higher rate of interest (presumably reflecting a higher risk) than our bank term deposits, but we feel that given the pedigree of the company, and the areas in which they say they apply the funds, the actual risk is probably only a little greater than that of bank term deposits.

Despite this optimism, we find ourselves reluctant to increase our exposure to F&P.

Our question is: how, from the multitude of fixed-interest offerings, do we determine which have a risk profile that is similar to our perception of that of F&P Finance?

Read More - Opens in a new window

Most Read

Unity First Home Buyer special 4.15
SBS FirstHome Combo 4.29
ICBC 4.49
Kainga Ora 4.59
SBS Bank Special 4.69
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 4.74
AIA - Go Home Loans 4.75
Unity Special 4.80
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 4.84
China Construction Bank 4.85
Kiwibank Special 4.95
Kainga Ora 4.95
China Construction Bank 4.95
ICBC 4.99
Unity Special 5.29
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.29
SBS Bank Special 5.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.39
Kiwibank Special 5.39
ASB Bank 5.45
Westpac Special 5.45
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.45
SBS Bank Special 5.49
BNZ - Std 5.49
Westpac Special 5.49
ASB Bank 5.59
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.59
ICBC 5.65
Kiwibank Special 5.69
Kainga Ora 5.69
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.89
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.99
TSB Special 5.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 3.29
AIA - Back My Build 3.34
SBS Construction lending for FHB 3.74
CFML 321 Loans 4.20
Co-operative Bank - Standard 5.34
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.34
ICBC 5.39
Kainga Ora 5.79
Heartland Bank - Online 5.80
SBS Bank 5.84
Pepper Money Prime 5.99

More Stories

Can the NZ economy grow while house prices stagnate?

Thursday, July 09th 2026

Can the NZ economy grow while house prices stagnate?

The question of whether the New Zealand economy can grow much without a recovery in the housing market remains a live issue.

Thursday, February 19th 2026

RBNZ expects slower house price growth in the current recovery

The Reserve Bank thinks house prices will rise at a much slower pace during the current recovery than they have in past cycles.

Wednesday, January 07th 2026

Queenstown not off the radar for first home buyers

First home buyers are not being deterred by Queenstown’s soaring house prices.

Record levels of first home buyers taking out low deposit loans

Tuesday, December 23rd 2025

Record levels of first home buyers taking out low deposit loans

About half of all first home buyer lending has been done at a less than 20% deposit in recent months.