The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua will proceed with its proposal to tighten Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) restrictions on lending to owner-occupiers to reduce risky mortgage lending. From 1 November 2021, we will be restricting the amount of lending banks can do above an LVR of 80 percent to 10 percent of all new loans to owner-occupiers, down from 20 percent at present, Deputy Governor and General Manager for Financial Stability Geoff Bascand says. “We launched our consultation earlier this month after observing that despite previous adjustments to LVR restrictions, house prices remained ... (full story)