Buying guide
What is the Official Cash Rate (OCR)?
These three little letters are kind of a big deal
AI summary
The Official Cash Rate (OCR) is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's primary tool for controlling inflation. It's the interest rate at which banks borrow money, directly influencing consumer mortgage and savings rates.
Raising the OCR increases borrowing costs to cool the economy and lower inflation, but can risk a recession. Lowering it stimulates spending but can inflate asset prices. Homeowners can manage rate volatility by using interest rate averaging—splitting their mortgage into portions with different fixed terms.
What is the OCR?
First, what exactly is the Reserve Bank?
What is the OCR?
Jeanette Thomas explains the OCR
The OCR is a tool for controlling inflation
The OCR influences the supply of money in the economy.
The problem with the OCR
All debt is affected by the OCR.
How mortgage holders can protect themselves against OCR increases
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