Buying guide

What is the Official Cash Rate (OCR)?

These three little letters are kind of a big deal

Ben Tutty
Last updated: 23 April 2025 | 5 min read
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The Official Cash Rate (OCR), set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, is the primary tool for managing inflation. It directly influences the interest rates banks offer on mortgages and savings accounts.

Raising the OCR cools the economy to fight inflation but can risk a recession. Lowering it stimulates spending but can inflate asset prices like property.

To manage risk from rate changes, homeowners can use interest rate averaging by splitting their mortgage into different fixed-term portions.

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

Author

Ben Tutty Ben Tutty
Content Writer