The Red & Black Bond, issued by Westpac New Zealand Limited, is a five year bond with a 5.80% p.a. interest rate of which 5.3% p.a is paid to the investor and 0.50% p.a of each semi-annual interest payment is donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust to assist in the rebuild of Christchurch community touchstones, such as sports and cultural facilities and community halls.

It’s an investment opportunity, with the added philanthropic benefit of helping the people of Christchurch on an ongoing basis – the five year term of the bond.

While the bond is not rated Westpac is rated AA by Standard and Poors. The offer is now open and closes on 11th August.

To download the Investment Statement click here  Red & Black Bond Investment Statement.

The Reserve Bank today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent and says that while the NZ$ is so strong  this is likely to reduce the need for further OCR increases in the short term.

The good days of low floating mortgage rates could soon be over with some commentators predicting the Reserve bank could increase the cash rate on Thursday. It is generally agreed that the strong NZ dollar will lead to increases in rates before long so now could be the time to lock in a fixed rate at a good rate.

The Bank of New Zealand has announced that it is issuing a senior 5 year bond with a fixed return of 138 points over the 5 year swap rate which works out to be approximately 5.60%

The bond will have a AA rating and rank equally with term deposits.

BNZ Indicative Terms Sheet 7 July 2011

Z Energy Limited is making an offer of secured, senior, fixed rate bonds for a term of 7 years at a fixed interest rate of 7.25% p.a. .

The offer opened on Friday 8 July 2011 and will remain open until 5 August 2011 (unless extended by Z Energy).

Applications for the bonds can only be made using the application form included in the attached Simplified Disclosure Prospectus for the bonds. ANZ, First NZ Capital, Forsyth Barr and Westpac are all acting as joint lead managers for the issue, which is expected to close on August 5.

zbond simplifieddisclosure prospectus0711

The New Zealand Government is offering a four-year Earthquake Kiwi Bond at an interest rate of 4.0% p.a. This is like the other Kiwi Bonds however the money invested in this maturity will go towards meeting the costs to the Government of the recovery in Christchurch following the earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011.

Kiwi Bonds are issued by Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand (“the Crown”) through the New Zealand Debt Management Office of the Treasury (“NZDMO”) and have an S&P rating of AAA.

The minimum amount that can be invested is $1,000 with a maximum of $500,000 in any one issue. To download the Investment Statement  from Direct Broking Limited click KiwiBonds application form.

If scammers steal your debit-card pin number, your bank account may be at risk. Fewer than half of banks promise zero-liability protection on debit-card pin transactions, says MarketWatch’s Andrea Coombes.

Make sure that you have paid at least $1042 into your Kiwisaver account by the end of June in order to qualify for the matching tax free deposit from the government which they call a tax credit. If you are a OnePath member then you need to fill in the attached Kiwisaver SILKS Additional Contribution Form.

OnePath is fully owned by ANZ New Zealand and is the new name for what was previously the wealth management business of ING in New Zealand.

The BNZ is offering competitive rates of 4.60% for 180 days or 4.70% for 270 days plus you go in the draw to win tickets to the Rugby World Cup final.

Just open any BNZ Term Deposit before 22 May 2011 and you’re in to win a trip for two to the Investec Super Rugby final. That’s match passes, hotel, flights and more. Check their website for terms and conditions.