Home > Term Deposits
Reviewer: Jim
What I did admire about RaboPlus was its integrity and honesty in showing the most recent customer ratings and reviews on the first page for term deposits in spite of the fact that these haven't been positive lately. Perhaps customers have been a bit harsh, since they've come to expect great rates from RaboPlus. But with you now only showing positive ratings and reviews on the first page, you've lost a good bit of that integrity and honesty too. Perhaps it is no different to what other banks would do, but you did set the bar high with your initial rates and practices, so you will inevitably be judged by that bar. And this comment box I am writing in is absurdly small by the way. I preferred the old site design.
Reviewer: Bob Bell
Well I've been waiting for the Term Deposit rates to improve...alas they are still abysmal so I've cranked $20,000 out to ANZ who are offering 4.6% for 6 months. I'll review Rabo Banks rates in 6 months time. Tis a pity as I had hoped to remain here .
Reviewer: Tom
So what is the advantage of locking cash in a 1 - 3 month TD over the On-Call?... Seems unlikely the On-Call rate will drop over that period (touch wood)... Is offering a 1-3 month TD just something that Raboplus does regardless of how many deposits it is likely to attract (vs On-Call)?
Mike Heath: Tom, the rates offered for each of the terms is a function of the yield curve but there is no linkage between the rates we offer for each maturity. We have always offered the same range of terms and as you say, it comes down to what you expect to happen with interest rates in the future and whether or not you want to lock monies in to guarantee a return.
Reviewer: Karla
No longer competitive term Deposit Rates. Would love to have left my money with you but am forced to move it.
Reviewer: Chris
In answer to your question, I have just taken all my funds away from RABOBANK. Will be a cold day in HELL before I return, without any SIGNIFICANT return to ME, not the BANK. You only have yourselves to blame. There was over 300K once.
Reviewer: alan stewart
all the reviews complain about your TD rates being too low.they cant all be wrong so you must have access to cheap wholesale rates to be able to patronise them like you do.the security and credit rating is excellent but the attitude is lacking.
Reviewer: Paula
I agree with John and am considering switching to a term PIE with another bank (my other significant other). 3month term deposits are well above yours.
Reviewer: John
Not sure why anyone would invest for a month at 3%? Or even for three months at less than on call amount. Isnt it about time that the one month rate was changed?
Mike Heath: John your question is very valid, although people do prefer the On Call knowing they can access the monies without the penalty for breaking a deposit contract. The rates we offer for TD are based upon the wholesale rates in the market for those terms, whereas the On Call rate is based upon a basket of maturities we reinvest your deposits in hence there is no direct relationship between the two.
Reviewer: jez
I too am disappointed by the term deposit rates. I thought Raboplus championed themselves as the best savings rates but others are well ahead of them and I will be looking to move funds out and into other options. The PIE rates are just as bad and offer no benefit to standard accounts, whereas other banks use the PIE funds as an incentive.
Reviewer: Karen
I wondered why your term deposit for 3 months 3.5% at maturity is actually worse than the Rabo on=call account I use 3.6% interest paid monthly. Even the 1 year Term deposit at 3.7% at maturity is worse due to the compounding effect. I found the ability to transfer into term deposits a plus but not now. I'm thinking of withdrawing some of my on-call and making a term deposit with ASB for 6mths at 5% Yours is 4% for 6mths.
Reviewer: Steve
Mike you moved .25% up on 20/10 for 1yr better than nothing. Economists are starting to bring their expectations of an OCR increase to next March to June. I'm looking at 6mths now for TD's. TSB @5% for 10000 Rabo @4% It does appear you don't need retail money Mike. If other banks including BNZ are starting to move do you get so much from the on-line call account (the best Available by far)you don't really need to attract deposits from us retail investors?
Mike Heath: Steve the rates we offer are driven by the underlying wholesale rates. Our competitors have not been using this approach for pricing for some time, hence the difference in rates offered for Term Deposits.
Can you match Kiwibank's 1 yr term deposit @5.1% paid monthly on $5000 Rabo: - 3.25% Why so uncompetitive?
Mike Heath: Steve clearly I have no influence over what Kiwibank is paying for retail deposits. What I do know is that the rates we offer are based upon the cost of raising deposits in the wholesale market, which typically would be more expensive than the retail rates – clearly some banks are paying significantly more for retail funds at present.
Reviewer: Dean Wensor
RABO – your rates used to be highly competitive? What’s happened? ASB Term fund 6mths @5%(PIE 38% = $5.64%) KiwiBank, Nat Bank, BNZ 6mths @4.60% (PIE 38% = 5.19%) Time to take my $ elsewhere it seems?
Agree with the other postings on here. Star rating drops to one star. Bank Direct currently offering 5% for 6 months.
Raboplus term deposits on holiday. Star rating falls.
Reviewer: Howard
Raboplus rerated to one star on 7 October 2009
Reviewer: Alan Beszant
Your interest rates are too low on your term deposits. I will use other banks until you better their rates as you used to do. I have good amounts to invest but at the best rates I can find. Alan
Reviewer: Michael
When are you going to match your competitors' 4.6% for 6 months?
Reviewer: John Bourke
Come on sharpen your pencils, lads.
Reviewer: Richard Wallace
Your rates are very poor when compared to other banks.
Mike Heath: Richard, clearly you are correct when talking about 1 month to 2 year TDs. However we lead the market for On Call and TDs for 3 to 5 years.
Reviewer: Charles
Your term deposit interest rate is less than the on call interest rate for my savings account. Like HELLO?? Give me one good reason why I should shift my money from my savings account to a term deposit !!!
Mike Heath: You are correct – the rates offered simply reflect the interest rate curve for NZ deposits. Typically NZ has operated with a negative curve i.e. on call and short dated TDs have offered better rates than those for 1 year or more. Take a look at a 3 to 5 year TD with monthly interest payments to give you an income.
Your term deposits rates are just too low and not competitive anymore. Come on guys !!!
Reviewer: Phil
Your six month rates are well below other deposit takers
Reviewer: Peter
Your rates are far too low. I have just got 4.65% for 4 months at PSIS compound.
Reviewer: Sharie
Your term deposits rates are just too low and not competitive anymore compared to the other banks, especially the shorter term deposits.
Reviewer: Jason Bodmin
Hi Rabo, my term deposits are coming up for re-investment, and Rabo is right out of the ball park for securing other moneys that i would love to put your way. Yes your savings accounts are high compared to the less significant banks, but term deposits where it's at with you guys, and your NOT shining!! Come on guys.
Great rates! So easy and straight forward to set up. Thanks RaboPlus!
Reviewer: Eric
Easy to set up and fair rates. Love your work.
Reviewer: Jan Lootsma
This term deposit comparison is totally unreliable and out of date. I checked today, and you get your comparisons from interest.co.nz that are at least a week old. If Rabobank relies on third parties to compare rates instead of relying on impartial reseach of their own, I would say this approach is very unprofessional, and above all misleading. If a bank that claims to be the best and most reliable is so unprofessional, what else can we believe they are claiming?
Mike Heath: Jan, thanks for the feedback. We receive a weekly file from Interest.co.nz and update the charts/tables as soon after receiving as we can. You should have noticed that we do place a date stamp below the table so you can be certain of the currency of the data. Please let us know if that level of detail is not clear enough.
Reviewer: Barry Rollinson
Having to move money to other Banks who are competing for short term deposits, would have preferred to leave with RaboPlus.
Reviewer: Steve Russell
Term deposits for the 3 month to six month bracket are .5 to .8% off the pace . Virtually all the major banks beat you. Three months ago your rates were competitive. Not now.
I just got 4.62% for 90 days with BNZ, thats over 1% more for what you are offering!!
Reviewer: Sarah
I agree with Jim. On short term deposits you're so much less competitive than other New Zealand banks. I'm seriously considering switching so I can get better rates for 90 days, 150 days, 6 months and a year.
Reviewer: Judith Mosen
Come on Rabo, I have drawn out my Term Deposit, your rates are just too poor. I am sure you can afford more.
What happened to BankaRate and your good short term deposits? I like to keep my money with Rabo, but what am I meant to do? I've been waiting as long as I can for a competitive rate. Maybe if you spent a little less on advertising.
I see that you are stating your interest rates are strong versus banks. Have you looked at the like of finance companies like PGG Wrightson Finance, and how strong their rates are? May be worth rating against the wider finance world in current times.
Mike Heath: Sarah, thanks for the feedback. We have chosen to compare ourselves to the major banks in NZ simply because they are the largest players in the retail deposits; they each have a nationwide presence; and are the nearest to us in terms of credit rating. Whilst we are the only one with an AAA rating, they each have at least AA, or AA- in the case of Kiwibank. Also if you were to look at the list of institutions offering On Call accounts on Interest.co.nz, for example, you would see that there are there is a very long list so in the interests of relevance and user experience I’m comfortable with the approach we take (note no other bank even compares themselves to their competitors on their own website).
Reviewer: Michael Brennan
Very interested to know the real reason behind the not insignificant gap between your one month and two year term deposit rates and the likes of Kiwibanks etc rates?
Reviewer: Diana
I see that you STILL say that you are voted "Best TD for 90 Days" By Cannex in 2008. That's been a JOKE for the last 15 Months. Time to remove it and try to regain lost Creditability. The bulk of my $130K will be still elsewere.
Reviewer: Ralph Jeuken
Mike, are we actually to believe that BNZ, ANZ, National and Kiwibank are all so stupid to offer rates on a loss-making basis? Do you know something they don't, or is it the other way round?
Reviewer: Gordon
Get real Mike Your comment of "loss-making basis" reminds me of when I was shopping around for a new vehicle and the Nelson Toyota dealer said he would be losing money if he matched the price of the dealer over in Blenheim.($3800 difference) Guess who I went with and guess who is still in business? I have a TD maturing soon and I won't be switching it over to Rabo that's for sure. Wake up and smell the roses!
Reviewer: Paul
Hopeless rates.Pulled my $420000.00 out to go somewhere more competitive.Won't be back Rabo until you stop treating depositors so poorly.
Mike Heath: Paul, it goes without saying that we are disappointed to see you or any other customer leave. We haven’t changed our pricing policy since launch and have consistently offered the best rates we can. Clearly we can not control the pricing strategies of our competitors and if they are offering rates on a possible loss-making basis, then that’s their business decision. I hope to see you back in the future.
Reviewer: Doug
I have mentioned the deduction of interest for monthly repayments before. Your rate is now uncompetative with some other major banks because of your insistance on making the rate less. Do you not realize how many pensioners live on their investments and need therefore to maximize their income where possible. Niggardliness does not become an institution like Rabo.
Reviewer: Jo
I agree with the previous review. I have money to deposit but will go where the rate is higher for the same term.
I agree verbatim with Benno Schmitt.
Reviewer: Benno Schmitt
Your term deposit interest rates are way below Westpac and other banks. So I will certainly invest my money elsewhere until your rates are getting better.
Reviewer: Onno le Roy
Your interest rates are way below Kiwibank. Also, Kiwibank offers AIL for non tax residents. So I will certainly invest the bulk of my money elsewhere.
Reviewer: Janice Edgecombe
We will have $470,000 to invest on 11 September and I was a bit disappointed to find your current rate is below Kiwibank, which is showing at 4.6$ for 120 days. Hopefully by 11 September you may be more competitive. Our money will definitely be going to the bank with the highest rate at that time.
From one of Mike Heath's replies sounds like there is a product roadmap list for RoboPlus. Perhaps the no-sensitive parts of this could be made available to customers so that they can vote / have a say what they would like? Or even a place were customers can make suggestions and other customers can vote on the suggestions.
Mike Heath: Paul, thanks for the feedback. We have recently conducted a pilot of a new customer satisfaction and feedback survey which did include a roadmap where we asked our customers to prioritise the developments for us. I must admit it was probably the one question where we received the most negative feedback because we listed 5 developments, but didn’t give customers the chance to nominate other developments [a lesson in surveys we have taken on board for the next iteration]. With regards to providing the opportunity for customers to contribute to our roadmap, we are also in the process of adding a feedback mechanism to our site which will enable you to make suggestions; ask questions; report a problem etc on any aspect or topic [not like the current ratings/reviews which are product specific]. And like our current ratings and reviews, the feedback will be in the public domain for everyone to see Watch this space.
Reviewer: Ewen Gracie
Can I have a fixed term deposit in Australian dollars?
Mike Heath: Ewen thanks for the feedback – currently we don’t offer foreign currency products although they do feature on our product roadmap (I’ll be totally honest and say that they are not that high up the list though). Regards Mike
Reviewer: pricha
Your 4,5 years term deposit are over the moon,higher a bit more than half a percent than the others,is there a reason for that?Nevertheless,it suited me well,cos i need the high interest yearly for income.Hope u can raise ur oncall rate soon?
Mike Heath: Pricha, thanks for the feedback. If you wanted you can also receive interest on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual basis when you invest in a TD with a maturity greater than 1 Year – may help with your cashflow. Check out the rates here.
Reviewer: Peter R
so where is your graph of whose paying the best rate for term deposits. Your way behind the other banks now eg 3.8% for 6 months compared with 4.5% with ANZ!
Mike Heath: Peter not sure what you mean, as we do provide charts of the TD rates offered by our competitors here.
you just raised the 5 years rate from 6.4 to 6.55% on 23july09,i havejust deposited fund on 15 july and 22july,,obviously it would be fare for me if i can break the deposit(without interest)and bank at 6.55%,,,,So,can i do that or is there a way???THANKS.
Mike Heath: Pricha, thanks for raising the question however our policy is to not allow people break contracts on the basis that they want to reinvest at a higher rate.
Reviewer: Malcolm Cameron
Please explain your interim interest rate meaning as at the moment you can not compare with other banks as no meaning is given.
Mike Heath: Malcolm, thanks for your feedback. With our interim interest rates you can choose to receive monthly, quarterly or six-monthly interest payments on one to five year terms and receive regular income at a fixed rate over the longer term. We will make it clearer on the website.
Reviewer: richard ward
rates no longer meet the market
Mike Heath: Richard, you make find my comment to Marilyn of interest.
Reviewer: john manby
Once a leader definitely not now. You should delete your misleading add. It is now 2009 and there are good finance companies which easily better Raboplus over 90 days
Reviewer: CW
I'm in the same boat as KJ above - are there special rates coming out for RaboPlus customers and if so, when? I've also just missed out on the 4.5% while waiting for the special customer rate...
Mike Heath: CW, thanks for the question. To be honest I’m not sure what people are referring to when they say they are expecting a special rate. We do have two promotions, the first of which will kick off in the coming days, but neither are rate related. Apologies for any confusion, that was clearly not my intent.
Reviewer: KJ
We were going to put some money on term deposit last month while the rate was 4.5% for three months, and then noticed from Mike's reply to a reader's comment you were planning a promotion for customers for the end of June. Haven't seen anything yet apart from the three months rate dropping to 4%??
Reviewer: cjackson
3-month term deposit dropped from 4.5% to 4%. Not worth my while.
Reviewer: shayne paterson
very competitive & especially looking at the longer term rates compared to the trading bank rates.
Reviewer: Caleb
4.5% for 3 months term deposit. Good on you Rabobank.
2 year rate is not good enough to get 4 stars overall
Reviewer: Kayne
Hi Mike, I was quite pleased to see the 4.3% for 3month TD's- not ecstatic, but pleased none the less:). I was just looking back at some of these comments, and you said something along the lines of a a promotion for your current customers. Did that ever happen? I just havn't seen anything in my inbox yet. Thanks, Have a good one.
Mike Heath: Kayne, thanks for the feedback re our TD rates. The customer promotion is on track for the end of the month so keep an eye out for it.
Reviewer: Elsie
Try competing with Kiwibank. So far they are winning by far.
Reviewer: Clive Dakin
Come on Rabo lets be competitive with the rates. Terms of reference are not good.
Reviewer: dave
It seems rabo's days of being the leader on interest rates are a thing of the past. Time to take stock.
Reviewer: Liz HILLIAR
easy to set up and excellant safe rates
Reviewer: Denis
Rabo has some of the lowest running costs (no branches) and now some of the lowest rates ?????
Reviewer: richard kong
maybe this is the begining of the end. time to get out before the storm hits, exactly what i am doing. Deposit rates? what rates?
Reviewer: alex
Yipes! Even stuffy ol' ASB will give me better rates. That's awful. What happened to your 6 mo to 2 yr rates! When my 5 mo with you comes due soon...I'll have to bail and seek higher ground. Alex
Reviewer: Keith
Term deposits are currently a waste of time with Raboplus. Kiwibank is offering 4.5% for 150 days and still has to fund branches from its profits. To get that here you need to invest for 3 years. The very nature of raboplus means that most people here are the type that shop around rather than just staying with their existing high street bank.
Reviewer: sam
you used to have the best term deposits but now you dont so I pulled all my money out.
Reviewer: Debbie Lockart
Term deposit rates are not competitive - Bankarate too hard to find and when you do find it you can never get it. Sorry Rabo I was a happy customer but once my current TD's finish I will be looking elsewhere to invest
Reviewer: James
Although i feel i may be repeating what others have said many times in the comments section. I have just had a significant amount of money mature in what was a competitive term deposit rate, the bad news for you and me is that I will not be reinvesting based just on loyalty (which I had buckets full for Rabo). Bankarate is a joke, if it is like Grabaseat then why do you not show how many there are availible? I have never managed to grab one of the bankarates but have flown 5 or more times on Grabaseat rates. Go figure
Mike Heath: James thanks for the feedback – we shall look at your suggestion re available BankaRates. Regards Mike
Reviewer: Herbie
Pathetic rates. What's gone wrong with Raboplus suddenly!? Are you guys in trouble?
Mike Heath: Herbie, I assume you are talking about our Term Deposits. The irony is, because we have the highest credit rating available and higher than any other bank in NZ, our TD rates are lower than those of our competitors. Have a look at a blog post I’ve done on this topic.
Reviewer: Andy
Obviously your existing customers are turning away, and I am a potential customer that is heading for the hills as well. I can get rates similar to your term deposits simply by leaving it in my current savings accounts with my current banks. And I can access it any time I require. NZ's safest bank? Big call, being so international. Shall we count the big ones that have fallen over lately?
Reviewer: Alan McKay
Your term deposit rates are poor and I am wondering why I opened this account. Bankarate doesnt work for me
Reviewer: ian cotching
You used to be competitive, but are now significantly below the majority of other financial institutions. Very disappointing.
Reviewer: Craig
Guys, I am able to get better rates with the ASB - Rabo is not giving us an insentive to stick around. Bankrate is too far and few between to keep my account open.
Reviewer: Dan
I was just wondering if you realised that you are currently offering the lowest rate for every term for deposits. I found this out by looking under 'Compare Us', a page that is clearly designed to show the opposite
Mike Heath: Dan, aside from the 1 Month TD your are dead right.
Reviewer: Dick
Loyalty is not valued by many banks these days. New customers often make deals that loyal customers miss out on, simply by asking. Thus loyalty is not a factor in modern retail banking. Customer relations however is important and while Rabobank is secure, polite and helpful the customer must eventually suffer disillusionment when confronted with "SOLD OUT" notices swinging about over the rates shown on the BankaRate pages. Hence a one star score.
Reviewer: Seb
Rabobank needs to step up a gear. Savings rates are signifcantly lower than the main stream banks.National is offering 4.25% for 90 days. Loans are becoming increasingly more expensive. If i am to keep my money with Rabobank they will have to remain market competitive!
Yes, of course I wish to have a long term relationship, hopefully one that is beneficial to both parties. So, let me comment about my efforts to take part in such a relationship today. I phoned your 0800 no. to enquire re your 6.1% interest ad per annum for 5 years. The call centre(?) operator told me it nished on 30/03. I informed him the ad was in the Herald dated 31/03. He then informed me he had made a mistake, but anyway, it had gone up after that to 6.25%. Apparently that rate was only for 2 days. So I then enquired if existing customers had been sent an alert. He said if there was nothing in my inbox then obviously no. Having suscribed to your information and feedback system, where is the communication from your bank to allow me to take advantage of this offer, and facilitate a continuing long term relationship.
Mike Heath: Karen, Apologies for the mistake re comment from the Customer Contact Centre. You raise a good point about how we inform customers of rate changes (correct me if I am wrong but I’m not aware of other banks proactively advising their customers every time a rate changes for every deposit product). In the next few weeks, as part of a wider survey, we will be canvassing customers about receiving updates re rate changes … do they want to receive updates … do they want updates for increased rates, decreased rates or both … how do they want to be advised i.e. public e-mail, secure e-mail or text?
It’s always a balancing act between keeping people informed of information that is relevant to them (product and timing) using a medium that suits them (e-mail or text) but not inundating them so as to overload their inbox and appear like we are spamming people. Interest rates may change many times a week so notifications on a similar frequency could very soon become annoying particularly if you are not in a position to take up that product at that time) I’m very much looking forward to the survey results.
What do we get for being loyal??? I have had all my cash with you for 2 years yet I can now get a better deal from Westpac just by walking in the door and negotiating as a complete stranger.When will I feel like you want me to stay?
Mike Heath: Karen, firstly I can only assume you are talking about Term Deposits out to 2 years, because our On Call rate and Cash PIE are consistently the best in the market. Plus our 3 to 5 year TDs have been particularly competitive of late.
Secondly I suppose it comes down to whether or not you have a view to enjoying a long-term relationship or a short-term transactional experience founded purely on rate. The current “financial crisis” and how it has manifested itself for retail deposits has changed the approach some banks have taken to raising money i.e. taking deposits. Basically those who are riskier have to pay more to get their hands on cash, something which ironically means because we are safer it costs us less to raise money. No one knows how long this situation will last, but I can say that our deposit rates before the “financial crisis” were most often the best in the market and who is to say that won’t be the same in the future when things evolve further. If rate is what you are after then it’s a transactional benefit you are looking for, which I can’t argue with. If it’s a relationship with a bank who has consistently offered higher rates; a bank which is the safest bank in NZ; and a bank for whom deposits stay in NZ as they are used to fund operators in NZ food & agriculture sector then the answer is RaboPlus.
Reviewer: Les
I'm very disappointed with your current term deposit rates.The competition has overtaken you.
Reviewer: Julian
Have to agree with other comments - Raboplus has gone from market leader to well behind the pack. Bankarates are only good for significant investments and are obviously in limited supply. My money is going elsewhere. Raise your game.
Reviewer: Elisabeth
Your rates are not market leaders rates anymore, Mike you promote bankarate, what a laugh, you have to be online at the moment a bankarate is launched to have a chance to get it, several times I missed out, despite the fact that he sold out sign was not posted. Now you even offer $100 for new accounts. What does this tell us as exsisting customers. Give us the $100 to thank us for still being with you.
Mike Heath: Elisabeth, thanks for the feedback. Our $100 campaign was hugely successful for attracting new customers to RaboPlus, as is the BankaRate campaign as demonstrated by the fact that the market leading rates offered are snapped up very very quickly. Look out for a new campaign in the coming weeks for all customers – I hope you take advantage of it (I assume you have opted-in to receive marketing messages as this is how we advise customers of campaigns and incentives).
Reviewer: Warren
I agree with the others that Rabo is lagging behind on TDs. The Bankarates are just a sales gimmick and are for small amounts of principal, and are usually sold out anyway by the time I see them.
Reviewer: Cameron
When I signed up to RaboPlus in Aug 2007 the term deposit rates were market leading for everyone and I did not have to rely on any bankarate specials, which are good but usually need significantly more than $1,000 investment. Now it seems there are better rates to be had with other banks, so now I have term deposits with Kiwibank who are currently offering 4.5% for 1 year (min $5,000) vs 2.70% (min $1,000) with Raboplus.
Reviewer: Rod
Trem deposits-on your terms? Joke!
Mike Heath: Rod, I acknowledge that our long-dated TDs in the past have not been offering great rates but now that we are offering up to 5.10% I think we’ve improved a lot. By the way have you taken a look at BankaRate
Come on Raboplus!! Jump back to being the market leader in rates, not the tail end Charlie! With Westpac offering 5.25% for 2 years or even 6% for 5 years (with Interim Interest as well) against Rabo at 2.8% and 3.7% you are not in the hunt! Surely you guys watch what others are doing and make some moves at least towards counteracting?
Reviewer: Cammy
ANZ have 4.5% term deposits for 12 months whereas Rabo are only offering 4.0%. My ANZ youth account also gives me 4.5%, which is on call. How come Rabo rates are so much worse? When will you match your competitors rates, and beat them?
Mike Heath: Cammy, have you seen BankaRate? It’s our platform for offering best-in-market Term Deposits? With regards to our pricing can I ask that you have a read of a blog comment I posted some time ago – it will give you my view on what’s happening with Term Deposits here in NZ, and whilst it’s quite an old post nothing has since happened to change my opinion. Thanks Mike
Reviewer: Richard
Wow you pulled a swift one on me here. Pulled me in for 2 years then dropped the floor on me. Turned over my investment at 2.85% interest - I can get 4% at ANZ. I guess nothing lasts forever. Cheerio.
Reviewer: Hans
You are not being truthful Mike. Your BankaRate only offered 4.25% for six months on an amount of $55k.You'll note that I was talking about $250k.I said 'offered' as your BankaRate special has a 'sold out' sign on it.Now why did that not surprise me...Anyway Westpac are offering (tv advertising) 4.25% for 100 days and 4.75% as does the Kiwi Bank for larger amounts which hardly makes your 4.25% a market leading rates even if you hadn't cancelled it.
[Mike Heath] Sorry Hans if you think I have mislead you. BankaRate works on a principal similar to GrabaSeat (Air NZ’s promotion) whereby we offer a limited number of Term Deposits with market-leading rates. When you visited the site the “sold-out” sign refers to the fact that people have banked those special deals (you can register for alerts whereby you’ll be advised of the next batch of Term Deposits being offered). At the time we set the rates/principals/maturities for the BankaRate Term Deposits we refer to www.Interest.co.nz to ensure for comparable principal/term we are offering the best rates in the market. I trust this provides more of an insight into BankaRate.
Good grief! I've got about $250k coming off term deposit(12 months) today and all you're offering is a miserable 3%.Kiwi Bank's rates are 4.75 for the same term and most other banks are willing to match that.I'm already a Rabobank customer with a modest amount in a savings account but I won't be adding to that in the foreseeable future unless you are going back offering the services you initially started with and which are now so sadly lacking in it's promises!
Mike Heath: Hans, in terms of what’s happening and therefore driving the differences in interest rates, my view hasn’t changed since last year – take a look at my blog post Have you taken a look at BankaRate Today we are offering 4.25% for six months … that’s a market-leading rate!
Reviewer: Gerry
Your TD's are all over Rover. The Dutch masters have pulled the plug. Bye Mike.
Mike Heath: Gerry, have you taken a look at BankaRate?
Just reading Kaz's review (the only review you choose to display on your website). Aren't Rabo a full 1% behind the market? Even your Bankarates are rubbish... not competitive and only for significant investments. If you're going to promote yourself as the price leading player, then live up to it.
Reviewer: Andrea
Sorry Rabobank, I used to rave on about your term deposit rates, but have shifted $100K+ out to other banks as you are just not competitive any more.
Mike Heath: Andrea, fair comment. However have you seen BankaRate? This is a promotion that we run offering the best TD rates in the market? Regards Mike Heath.
Reviewer: Danz
Also, why can't I rate you one star? It just tells me "Please select a star rating" and forces me to add a second star!
Mike Heath: Danz, my apologies – it’s a software glitch which we will resolve ASAP. Regards Mike
Its amazing how much faster RaboPlus' term deposits have fallen compared to other banks - your 1 year term is now worth 0.7% less than the closest competitor, and 2.05% less than the best available - and that's from your own comparison chart! Unfortunately because of this, I've had to take $22,000 out of RaboPlus in the past week alone! Come on, offer competitive rates again on your longer terms...
Mike Heath: Danz, I can’t counter your observations – my read on what is happening is essentially it’s a continuation of what we saw last year with banks aggressively securing retail funds to offset their prior wholesale sources. Have you registered for our BankaRate initiative? I can assure you that the TDs we offer through BankaRate are market leading. Regards Mike
Reviewer: Rhys
Excellent if you want to invest small amounts of money. You only need $1000 minimum to invest. Easy to set up on-line. The Other main banks offer a better interest rates if you have 10,000+
Not impressed with low term deposit rates.....very poor...you dont get my money.
Reviewer: Greg
low rates compared to other main banks. Certainly no longer #1 in my book. Hope they improve in the future.
Mike, Aaron IS correct. Please check the Fair Trading Act. You are indeed misleading the public with information that "it is known to be out of date".
Mike Heath: Thanks Richard, to be honest I can't see how someone could be mislead by the banner. The banner doesn't say or imply that RaboPlus' term deposit rates are invariably the best in the market. It just says that RaboPlus' term deposits are No. 1, and backs that up with the "click for proof" link to details of how, for the last 2 years, the RaboPlus 90-day term deposit has won the Sunday Star Times Cannex Banking Award to the Best 90-Day Term Deposit.
Reviewer: Aaron
The banner on top of the website is no longer true (false advertisement?) RaboPlus' Term Deposit rate is no longer #1, please either adjust the rate to "live up to the promises", or just remove that part of ad. As for the rest, I'd still say RaboPlus is the best, #1 indeed.
Mike Heath: Aaron – the quote is in relation to yet again winning Sunday Star Times Cannex Banking Award for the Best 90 Day Term Deposit earlier this year. If you click on the tile you’ll see the full quote from Rob Stock (Money Editor – Sunday Star Times). I trust that clears things up as I can assure we are not trying to mislead anyone.
Reviewer: Leah
Mike, I, like many other Rabo depositors, have concern that your TD rates now lag behind the competition. The justification given in your blog has some theoretical merit but, given the Govt guarantee and the added cost advantage that Rabo has by having less than $5billion in deposits, seems commercially naive. If your TD rate trend starts to reflect in your call rates then I suspect that a huge amount of deposits will be gone by lunchtime. Mike Heath: Leah, thanks for the comment. I can assure you that nothing has changed from our end in terms of our pricing strategy – we continue to offer, as we have since we opened our virtual doors, the best rates possible.
The market is very much being led by the global “credit crisis” and the way it has impacted the major retail banks in NZ, prior to the announcement of the deposit guarantee, has been on their cost of funds. How the deposit scheme will impact rates going forward, it’s too early to say – will banks absorb the additional levy or will they pass it on (lower interest rates for deposits or higher interest rates for mortgages) – time will tell.
As you no doubt are already aware, the NZ deposit scheme does not currently guarantee wholesale deposits, and given that NZ retail banks raise almost 40-50% of their funds offshore, are they likely to get these funds if they are not guaranteed – I would doubt so, I would imagine those markets that enjoy guarantees for wholesale deposits will attract the money. So how it will impact the cost of funds for banks is also unknown.
Reviewer: Harvie
Mike, an extra star for your empathetic and responsive answer. Thanks. If the explanation you gave in May still applies now, what's happened to the lower-overheads cost advantage you offered your clients before May? How has that been priced into your deposit rates now, when you attracted a lot of business and bouquets by marketing the advantage the lower overheads offered depositors well before May 08? Given that it can be argued all banks may soon be on a common ‘safety’ basis because of the govt. guarantee (which in terms of the security of deposits undermines the meaningfulness of the extra 'A' in your credit rating for the 2-year period during which the guarantee holds good), what point of difference can you now offer depositors to attract and retain their business instead of seeing them off to a rival who is offering a 15% better ROI? What effect, if any, has any change in the rural economy (your main lending business?) had on the levels at which you can offer deposit rates?
Mike Heath: Harvie I can assure you nothing has changed. We haven’t purchased any bricks and mortar branches, and our overheads are the same. Our pricing policy is, as it has been since our launch, to offer amongst the best deposit rates in NZ and that also hasn’t changed. What has changed, however, is the world in which we are operating. Not that we needed one, we do support the government’s move to offer a retail deposit guarantee as we support measures to better secure investors hard earned cash. And as per the Sunday Star Times article from yesterday (19th Oct) it will be interesting to see what impact that will now have on deposit rates.
Rabo, you're letting the side down. You've removed the dinky little charts comparing your t/d rates with those of other banks, and replaced them with a comparison between t/d's and PIE funds. That's ok, but why are you no longer willing to overtly compare your t/d rates with other banks? Example: for the commonly-sought 12 month rate, Rabo = 6.50%, HSBC = 7.30%, ASB = 7.50%. Rabo is a full 1% lower than ASB, which equates to ASB offering a rate that is more than 15% better than Rabo.
Mike Heath: Harvie, sorry for the confusion. We haven’t removed the charts because if you look at the left-hand navigation you’ll see they are still there (here is the link to the specific page - http://www.raboplus.co.nz/term-deposits/term-deposit-compare/default.aspx). What we did do was change our Term Deposit page to include the new Cash Advantage Fund comparison calculator, however we appreciate your feedback and will also restore the reference to the comparison charts on Term Deposit page. With regards to our rates, versus those of our competitors please have a read of my blog post of May this year as I believe the same explanation still applies. Thanks for the feedback.
Overall, I am happy with my term and call deposits with Raboplus. Since Raboplus's inception about two years ago, they have really given the NZ term deposit market a shake up and left all the major banks in their wake, forcing them to get their act together and offer half decent rates for a change only to be penalised for withdrawals or a minimum $5k 10k term deposit amount. I'm happy with the current rates and can understand why Raboplus isn't going to offer "the competitve rate on the day" unlike the australian owned banks who have exposure to the US and more recently Lehmann Brothers - for example CBA or ASB here has something like $150M aus exposure to them so of course their cost of funds is going to go up as they struggle to get funding resulting in slap happy term deposits rates here but also higher mortgage interest rates. Good on you Raboplus,keep up all the good work and thanks for the attractive "bank a rate" of 8.2% recently.
Reviewer: Arnie
Don't forget Rabo offers compounding on a 12 month term the others are a flat rate at end of term.
Reviewer: Deb
Hi Can I please ask why there are no PIE term deposits with Rabo?
Sorry....you're not 2nd lowest for 12 month TD now....you're the lowest! Lowest overheads and lowest rates....
2nd to lowest rates for 12 month TD. Pathetic
Reviewer: Mark
I looked at joining Rabo some time ago but the faceless bank teller didn't do anything for me and the whol internet banking scenario is a big turnoff. I get over 8% with my existing bank and I get to grab someone by the throat if they screw it up. Rabo's rates for a so called AAA rated bank are rubbish and I suspect you will be losing customers hand over fist. Don't spout that you are the safest bank around and then offer these sort of rates. I know who you lend to - farmers, and what you charge. Someone's getting screwed here and it aint me.
Reviewer: roger d
Nice one Chris, I agree. I hope the people who feel hard-done-by on their perceived 0.1% loss on interest rates hurry up and move on. Wonder if Rabo could then block deposits into their accounts when finally the rates swing back as the Aussie owned banks start choking on their uneconomic positions, and these people start the moaning process all over again with the big threats of pulling their cash. The irony is that if they weren’t with Rabo in the first place, the Aussie banks would have no incentive to offer increased interest rates to get them back again. I moved to RaboPlus because it offered some real competition into the market and its strong credit rating. None of these factors have changed, so I won’t be moving. I wonder if Rabo’s fair-weather-customers will realise one day the truism: that it’s not what it costs, but what it’s worth that counts. Good on you Mike - stick to your guns.
Reviewer: Moot
I agree with Chris, Colin and Jessica. I'd rather not risk my money for a mere 0.10% or 0.20%, especially looking at the trends happening lately on financial institutions. RaboPlus is still the safest bet, both from financial security as well as access (net) security. "Now isn't the time to be doing anything rash with our investments."
Some interesting comments coming through. Chris, people invest in different instruments for their own reasons. For some it's Greed, for others it's Fear. For some, it's a more esoteric reason - Stewardship. There’s a time to be an aggressive investor, & a time to be a defensive investor. The Risk-Return relationship must always be considered, with an understanding of how to make your money work for you and also, the time value of money. Understanding the power of compounding is essential - a 0.10% difference may seem insignificant, but seeking it does not necessarily constitute greed - it may be the difference between stewardship and irresponsibility, depending on the individual's situation and the instrument he's using to achieve that additional gain. And, all things in the risk-return relationship being equal, why forego the extra 0.10% if you don’t have to? There’s also a time to be charitable – but why let the bank keep the 0.10% when you can have it? After all, it’s your money that earned it. The banks are in business to mean business and to make a commercial return for their shareholders, not to be charitable. How many have come to the rescue of all those stricken finance company investors lately? Let’s not be naive, it was Greed not charity that motivated the financiers to lend untold billions to sub-prime borrowers. Now we are all paying the price of that greed, and the result is global fear. If Rabo wants to retain the initiative, like any organisation wanting to retain client loyalty (whether PIE investors or bank depositors) it needs to keep tweaking its products and services to help its clients solve their financial problems. There are plenty of other banks pushing from behind.
This is typical talk about Greed - Every one was more than happy to put there money in Rabo when they were getting higher returns, but now they are concentrating more on the PIE funds every one wants to take there money and put it where they are getting the biggest return, the majority of people moaning here, obviously have so little money that it isnt worth putting into a PIE fund and your moaning about a .10 of a %, get real ... good on you Mike keep up the great work ill be leaving my money in raboplus, regardless, Thanks for the great service:)
Reviewer: Don Peebles
Mark, comment 28/8 hits the mark in my view.Looking at the negative comments it appears that Rabo has missed the market so to speak.I find this a real disappointment as the majors have had it too good for too long.Mike do we have any proposals to counter the apparent lack of customer satisfaction?
Reviewer: Mary
Mike, Sorry to come back so soon, but ref your comments to Richard. Are you seriously trying to make me believe that my deposits with ASB (currently 8.3% for 6 months) are at risk? I accept, and understand, your comments as far as they relate to the small fry (I lost money in Bridgecorp), but the major banks??? Come on Mike, you can do better than that.
Mike Heath: Mary what I am saying is, because banks are not as comfortable as what they once were when it comes to lending money to each other i.e. they are seen as being much more risky, they are charging each other more to borrow. This impacts how much banks are then willing to pay for raising money through customers deposits i.e. an alternative means of funding - they will pay more for deposits because it’s less than what they have to pay to borrow from each other.
I totally Agree with Mary. AS my TD's mature it's Bye-Bye Rabo. The Honeymoon (or the affair) is over, back to the boreing old banks. Hmmm... haven't seen thoses ads about much lately, does make you wonder does it not.
Mike Heath: Perhaps another way to explain what’s going on (refer myblog post of May) is the classic risk vs return quote. Currently banks are having to pay more for their funds due to the "credit crunch" i.e. banks are more weary when it comes to lending each other money. Because of this, those banks with lower credit ratings are having to pay more for the money they borrow because they are deemed to be "more risky". People who are investing/depositing their money with these banks want more return for the risk they are taking.
I totall agree with what Mark has said. As each of my TDs matures the money will be coming out of Rabo into one of the major "high street" banks. What is particularly noticeable is that Mike, who is usually quick to comment, has chosen to not answer Mark's comments. Makes you wonder what is happening at Rabo??
Mike Heath: Hi Mary, nothing untoward happening here. Where someone is simply providing their opinion or making a statement of fact, as opposed to asking a question or requesting a response, I don’t tend to make a comment (the exception would be if I felt they were factually incorrect or did not have the full picture) – I felt this very much applied in the case of Marks comment. If you look at the ratings pages and blog pages there are numerous comments from the audience to which I do not respond. I am always keen to have a discussion with people so please keep the questions coming.
Irrespective of what the bankers tell us about offshore funding costs / international lending arrangements, margins, comparative credit ratings etc, (huh? even the supposedly credible ratings agencies have been getting it embarrassingly wrong lately), RaboPlus promoted its competitiveness on the basis that its cost structure was lower than the high street banks since it doesn't carry branch and staffing overheads. This fact alone, which remains unchanged, made it eminently possible for Rabo to offer the most attractive deposit rates. We are seeing how the banks have been able to sit back and, somewhat cynically, reap possibly billions of dollars in new deposits for very little extra cost when the (ongoing) finance company sector agonies precipitated a 'flight to security'. It is difficult to conclude that the bankers behind Rabo are only ‘playing it safe’ when as a strong player it is now ideally situated to hide behind the fallout and take advantage of decreasing lending rates to reduce its own borrowing (term deposit) rates, notwithstanding the plausibility of its arguments to the contrary. After all, we are bankers - it’s profit-taking time! (never forget that). The loyalty relationship between customers and suppliers depends not only on pricing, but also on quality (risk) and service. If the high-street banks are “more risky” as Mike says, now is the time when frightened and disaffected investors need a reliable banking partner to enable them to manage their investment risks and conserve wealth. RaboPlus is probably the best placed bank to fulfil this role. The challenge is, does it want to be (which will mean proving it by improving its deposit rate offerings – which we suspect it can afford to do) or does it risk disappointing and losing more depositors? Sorry Mike, Rabo is losing its lustre – now being useful more for its convenience than for its strategic value in creating wealth and managing risk.
Reviewer: Stephanie
I am joining the many expressing disappointment with RaboPlus. Needless to say shortly other banks/ instruments will be taking some of my cash off Rabo. Still a very good risk - reward option but Rabo was the best for a while...
Reviewer: Roger
I am also very disappointed with RaboPlus. I had previously thought Rabo was the leader with the best rates as it had less overheads compared to others banks and so was passing the savings to the depositors how wrong I am. I will be transferring some of my funds soon to another "other" bank
Reviewer: Bob Smith
I for one don't believe any NZ banks will be going under, so am very disappointed RaboPlus (which was my favourite) is now a long way off leading the way on term deposits.Hopefully Rabo will recover the confidence to regain its former position in the market.
Mike Heath: Bob, whilst it’s good to see we were your favourite it’s not so good to hear that you are disappointed in us. You may recall a piece I wrote on our blog back in May where I tried to explain what I thought was happening.
From my analysis, the driver behind what is driving retail deposit rates in NZ is the lack of willingness of banks internationally to lend each other money, reflected in the rates they charge to lend each other money. Those banks with lesser credit ratings are deemed “more risky” and therefore have to pay more to borrow from other banks. The premiums that NZ high street banks are now having to pay for offshore funding is significantly higher than it has ever been before, and I would argue that some may be more willing to pay negative margins on retail deposits as this “loss” is less than the premium they’d have to pay should they try and raise funds offshore. Quite a significant change.
Although slightly dissapointed with the new term deposit rates, I am still a very happy customer. I suspect that RaboPlus is just 'Playing it safe'... By having marginly lower rates I believe that RaboPlus will be a much safer bet than any of its competitors. If any banks are going to go under it will be the ones with the higher rates (thats just my opinion). Im sure that the slump in the market will change, and for the better!. All we have to do is wait, RaboPlus will soon be the market leaders- Just as we all remember them being. Thanks Mike- Looking foward to the market upturn!
Reviewer: Colin
Interesting to read these comments - both negative and positive. On the one hand, I too have been disappointed that Rabo no longer offers the best returns (in many cases) - however - I'm also mindful of the old saw "the greater the return, the greater the risk" - and frankly, I'd rather receive a slightly lower return in exchange for far lower risk. Many finance companies are going under - how far behind might some of the banks be? Short answer is, "who knows" - by the time we get to hear of something going wrong it'll be too late to get funds out.
Reviewer: Jess
I can't find anywhere on your website stating whether the interest paid for Term Deposit is in the form of daily compound interest or pay on maturity?
Mike Heath: Jess we currently address the question of when the interest is paid, on our FAQs. However we don’t have a specific one under Term Deposits with regards to the interest calculation which we will remedy this week. Thanks for the question.
Reviewer: Jessica
Now isn't the time to be doing anything rash with our investments. Yes Rabo's rates are lower than they were, but so are everyone elses. Get over it and sit tight, in the big picture it isn't making much of a difference.
Reviewer: Investor
The rest of the feedback on this site is a reflection that Rabo has slipped down the ranks in the last year in term deposit rates. They are now below industry average and below every other major bank apart from BNZ for 1 year rates. If they remain as they are, I will be forced to transfer my investments to another bank with better rates.
Reviewer: Vicky
We are in an economic downturn so I would rather be invested at a lower rate with RaboPlus than any where else at this point because I believe this to be the safest place to sit tight during this time of uncertanty. I am with Joe and the other RaboPlus supporters. Cheers!
Reviewer: Sharlene
I disagree with many of the below comments. Many are saying Kiwibank are offering a better rate, but this only applies to those with over $10,000 to invest. Rabo is still the best for anyone with under under $2000 for call accounts and under $10,000 for term deposits. I do agree that the term deposit rates are weird to be at a lower rate than the on-call account, but I can get over this, just leave my money on-call.
Reviewer: Gareth
You have to check the minimums with those other banks. I just checked out some of the other term deposits mentioned as being better and it seems to me unfair to compare an account with 10k minimum to one with a 1k minimum. Well done RABO on publishing both positive and negative views.
Reviewer: Andrew
your term deposit rates are getting worse by the week! whats the point of having a term deposit with interest rates less than the on-call accounts. I had planned to make a term deposit at the beginning, but decided to wait to see if the rates increased. The only reason I'm still with raboplus is because of the on-call accounts. You seriously need to get it together raboplus. I can't see how you ever got an award for it. Oh, and why can you only give a min rating of 2 stars? for the record this is a 1 star rating.
Mike Heath: Andrew, thanks for the feedback. The relationship between On Call rates and Term Deposits is a function of the yield curve as opposed to the features/benefits of the products that make up the yield curve. The yield curve is currently negative, reflecting the expectation of the wholesale market that interest rates in the future will decrease. With regards to the star ratings, my apologies this is a technical glitch which we will resolve as soon as possible – thanks for pointing it out.
Regards, Mike
Reviewer: Charlie
It is interesting to read the comments posted here. I recall very similar comments by people regarding the difference between rates offered by "sound finance companies" being so much more competitive than banks only about 18 months ago....we all know how that ended!!! It sets off some alarm bells for me that a low cost structure business like Raboplus that has proven itself to be a market leader on investment interest rates (unlike other banks) finds itself in a position where it is presumably unviable to match otherbanks rates. This must be because they can still source funds from the money markets (based on their credit rating) at a competitive rate. Anyone who follows the money markets on the news will note the reduction in 90 day bank bills loosely relates to movements in raboplus's rates (certainly the trend is downwards on 90 day bills). Is it a sound investment strategy to invest hard earned savings with banks that are obviously having to pay more on the money market than a AAA rated bank?? I personally feel that the money market has a better understanding of risks associated with various banks than I do. I would be cautious about putting all my money with banks that obviously have issues that require them to have to pay "above the market" for funds. This begs the question what are these issues?? Don't be fooled into thinking that these issues only relate to NZ these banks have global exposure and some have suffered major losses as a result of the credit crunch and american sub prime market. Is this why the money market is applying a premium for risk to put funds with these banks?? For those that rates are the main focus.... Finance Companies have increased what they are paying for funds also... there are somer great rates available there too....(seems like a silly idea huh?) Just some food for thought....
Reviewer: Alex
I swallowed hard and bought a Kiwibank Term Deposit 8.85 for 5 months. With more branches and money backing Rabo why can't you match this? ANZ offers 8.5 for 100 days...why not match this? And the significant other stuff IS a bit tawdry ain't it?
Your term deposits are not as sharp as they were, especially compared to the current kiwibank PIE. The rates were what kept me in the face of an unnecessary sexualised (and sexist) advertising campaign and branding.
Reviewer: kevin
Kiwi bank is offering 8.85% for 5 months TD.
Been with Rabo right from the beginning and have advised many to join. Its fine for on-call but when you check the term deposit rates even a year ago it paid to stay on-call. Advise the same now. If you go elsewhere you lose convenience and security for better rates. I don't blame rabo for recouping some costs now they have a good customer base. The other banks are trying to catch up and longer term are better at present. Rates are coming down lock in longer rates.
Reviewer: Joe
I originally joined Rabo because of there high Interest rates, they have declined. My decision to stay with Rabo is more than just Interest rates. So far with Rabo have offered 100% better service than my "Significant Other" bank. Rabo is also one of the largest banks in the world and have a higher credit rating than any other bank in NZ. I feel my hard earned money is safer here than any where else, lets face it, there are a lot of companies going belly up here in NZ. You need to look at the bigger picture.
I agree with the comments posted that Rabo is not as sharp as they were a year ago. I have a TD maturing which I will most likely switch elsewhere. Rabo should have lower overheads and therefore be able to offer a margin above the Aussie banks
I would have to agree with Julia, I had the same intentions when I joined raboplus, I believe the interest rates were closer to 9% on the lower terms. But then this is expected with the later terms offering much lower interest rates.
Reviewer: Julia
When I first joined Rabo, your interest rates looked attractive and kept on increasing but now I think you need to relook at your interest rates for term deposits. Other banks are offering higher rates for 5 months. I'm thinking of looking elsewhere to invest.
Reviewer: colin wilton
come on mike.... where are the td enhancements that you have consistantly offered (17/02/2008 "...in a few weeks..."). the only movements have been down. we all know about the world recession or downward trends in the interest rates, however, does this mean that your forecasting has been well out if you cant offer "consistently higher rates than other banks" as you always maintain. it must be comming difficult to state "four stars out of five", based on recent reviews.
Mike Heath: Colin – thanks for keeping me on my toes! In case you missed my most recent blog post, or ActiveMoney which was published this morning, I am pleased to announce that we are now offering interim (monthly, quarterly or semi-annual) interest payments for Term Deposits 1 to 5 years. We also recently surveyed customers asking them if they were interested in having the ability to nominate their own maturity date for Term Deposits, for which I was surprised because not many saw a great deal of benefit in it. Once again, thanks for keeping me honest.
Have to think about moving my lare investment I have with you guys as you'vebecome too comfortable and lost you've competitive edge. Other banks are safe as well!
Reviewer: Anne Bell
I definately think you need to look at your term deposit rates. Other banks are offering higher rates than yours!! Come on Rabo!!
Mike Heath: Anne I’m not going to deny that our TD rates are not as high as those offered by some of our competitors, but can I ask that you take a look at a recent post in our blog which explains what we believe is driving things. Also take a look at our comparison charts to see that our rates were leading the market until October last year, since which we haven’t changed our pricing strategy of offering our best possible rates.
From PSIS: 8.80% p.a. for 6 Months (compounding interest). I joined RaboPlus because at the time you offered the best. My thoughts now are changing. I can get 8.4% elsewhere for an online account. Come on, team! Still like your AAA, but there are definitely other options out there.
Reviewer: Matt
Re: Deb's comment about the 3 day clearance period - a handy trick here is to initiate funds transfers to RaboPlus from your other bank's side (i.e. using *their* internet banking service). This means that the transation is processed as a direct credit, and as such part or all of the funds will be remitted as cleared funds (depending on the amount and systems used by your other bank). If the funds transfer is initiated at the RaboPlus side, RP has no guarantee the direct debit will not be reversed or declined by your bank due to insufficient funds, authority cancellation or whatnot. Therefore it makes sense for RP to apply an uncleared funds hold for funds initiated this way.
Reviewer: Peter Worrall
Not competitive for larger amounts..offered 8.7%-8.85% from 3 other banks for amounts of $10,000 plus
Reviewer: Sunil
I have been a customer for a long time, slowly im starting to feel that i should now move my longer term deposits elsewhere as its not appealing me anymore. i still like the security, but i don't see that as an issue with the other banks. The rating is good being the best in NZ but all the other banks also have a good rating and I don’t see my money being lost if I invest there. So your competitive edge seems to be going down. my savings account would still be here as it still leads the market!!! hope that wouldn't change in the near future.
When I first joined Rabo I thought you were the best bank around for investors. I still like your security (internet access and credit rating) and the ease of doing business. However I have recently transferred funds to other banks because of their substantially better 6 month and 1 year rates. I have 2 more investments maturing with Rabo shortly and I am afraid I will also be looking elsewhere unless your longer term deposit rates improve. I am still happy with the on-call and shorter term deposit rates, but it's a shame you are otherwise no longer the market leader among the banks.
Reviewer: D Chard
Your rates are great for say 1 month, but poor compared to others like S/C at 9% for 6mths, other wise everything else is great, service etc.
Not only are the rates not as competitive as what other banks are offering, when new funds are deposited into Rabo they take 3 days to clear. When the funds are cleared that is when the term deposit can be created. Yes I know the funds are earning the on call interest rate, however other banks will back date term deposits the funds to the original date the funds were received. You would have seen I have chosen not to reinvest my recently matured funds with Rabo and will continue to move my funds from Rabo until they become competitive in the market once again. What happened to the we offer greater rates because we have no branches promise ??
Mike Heath: Deb, thanks for the feedback (we’ll look at the back-dating matter you refer to). With regards to rates, it’s no so much about the rates we are offering, it’s more an issue of fundamentally how the market has changed. You may have heard the media reference to the credit crisis. What you are seeing is how it’s manifesting itself in the local deposit market. Take a look at my recent blog article on what we see happening.
I think the current term depopsit rates are not attractive compared to those that other banks can offer. Why has Raboplus reacted to this "credit crunch" whilst other banks (who one would imagine will face the same difficulties) have not? Even if other banks are making a loss short term it still means that Raboplus is unconpetitive for those with more than $10,000 to invest in a term deposit at a bank. However the $1000 minimum investment is excellent and until recently I have been more than happy to invest in term deposits with Raboplus. Not having a lot of spare cash the short term deposits suit my needs better, but at the current rates I am happy to keep them in the standard savinigs account.
Reviewer: Anne
How come your term deposit rates are no longer attractive? Will Raboplus come up with other attarctive solutions for consumers?
Mike Heath: Anne, at RaboPlus we have always offered the best possible rates for our products since launch in 2006. However there is a “new phenomenon” at play – namely the global credit crisis, and we believe what you are seeing with Term Deposit rates is impacted by the credit crisis. Take a look at my recent blog post on the subject.
Im with the reviews below,I have to say- Looking around at other banks I have noticed that Rabo is no longer a 'term deposit leader', as I used to call them. I have to admit though, RaboPlus has always been a great bank to be apart of! Always fast to respond to any queries and I feel very safe with you guys. I will NOT be moving banks, purely because they have been great while I have been with them. I am still happy to refer freinds onto RaboPlus as I still beleive they are the best bank. Good on you RaboPlus! Keep it up, all I need now is to win that $30,000 and ill be happy.
Reviewer: Lucia
What's happened with "we offer greater rates because we have no branches"? All the major banks have beaten RaboPlus by now in Term Deposits (and they have branches!)... It's not worth it right now to open any, considering that they ofer just a mere 0.05% more than the on-call account. What's wrong? I am seriously considering taking my money out and putting it on other bank's TD. Many are offering 8.7%-9% on 6 months and 1 year TD. React RaboPlus! I am starting to feel let down!
Mike Heath: Thanks for your rating Lucia. Please see my response to Chris Lindsay below who asked a very similar question.
Reviewer: Anonymous
The interest rates are excellent, i think only absurdly wealthy people are complaining because if you only have $1000 then this is the only place you can save and get a good rate. You only need $1 for the online call account. But my criticism is about reading the numbers on the silly little device. Maybe add some letters in there or something. It is so difficult reading a string of numbers with no spaces. Hello... even people who can't do maths in their brain like to accumulate some savings. 521 102 55 88 is easier to read than 5211025588 it is easy to accidentally write 3 of one number instead of two, so if you screw up your numbers a couple of times you probably have to ring up rabo and tell them all your address and stuff and that is a huge hassle and turn off. Maybe reserve the log in calculator for those who have zillions of dollars and are paranoid about hackers...
Reviewer: Kyle
Considering the 1,3 & 6 mth options are only 0.1% above the current on call rate, and that all the other mth options are below the current on call rate, I think Rabobank could be losing out on a bit of investments here. Personally, with a rate of 8.5% (or more) over 1 yr, I would definitely be looking into transferring into the term deposits during these unstable times. But at the moment, they just seem a bit lite to be worth the hassle!
I think the profit from the Cash Advantage Fund for Rabo/AMP Captial is excessive for what is involved in providing it, and it leaves a bad taste - the tax break for the 39% taxpayer is meant to be for the benefit of the investor not the banks. To get the full benefit you have to treat the Fund as a term deposit, but you offer far less interest than term deposits, and you appear to be falling behind on the term deposit rates. The discounted on-call rate for the Fund means you are taking an unfair slice of our returns. This is tarnishing an otherwise fantastic market leading brand. MiGod, you are more greedy than we are.
Mike Heath: Craig, thanks for the feedback. Your comment about the full benefit is valid, however we have designed the Cash Advantage Fund to be like an On-Call deposit (no fees, ability to access your money easily etc) and therefore it is priced accordingly. Even if you don’t hold the fund for a full year you still get the benefit of daily compounded interest (traditional On Call and Term Deposits only pay simple interest) and the deferred tax payment (you only pay at the end of the tax year or at the time you redeem units).
Reviewer: Chris Lindsay
I want to invest funds on a 5 year term deposit with you but your interest rate (7.75%) is significantly lower than ASB's rate of 8.5%. I am aware you have a AAA rating from S&P but ASB has an AA rating and the interest rate difference seems unusual. Would you please explain why your 5 year rate is less than ASB's?
Mike Heath: Chris, thanks for the question – it really is a unique and interesting time right now with the “credit crunch”. Since launch we have maintained our policy of actively managing our deposit rates, taking into account movements in the wholesale money markets, Rabobank's capital requirements and the need to offer the most competitive rates we can. What's reasonably clear is that the "credit crunch" has increased some banks' need for funds and what interest rates they're prepared to offer for deposits i.e. they've changed their pricing policies. We suspect that some banks are even at negative margins (i.e. for some deposits, some banks are not even earning the loan interest required to fund the deposits). Whilst I cannot comment on ASB’s current deposit pricing policy, I can say that we have maintained our pricing policy since launch. As with all investment decisions, the old dictum of risk v reward applies.
Reviewer: Amy
Great bank! Best rates! Hey what's this $1000 starting bonus?
Reviewer: Daniel Clough
Excellent rates from a AAA rated bank. Easy to transfer between savings accounts and term deposits.
Reviewer: Kaz
Raboplus TD's rock! The rates are fantastic, especially when compared to the risk (credit rating) of investing with Raboplus. And entry is easy--thanks to only needing $1000 min to invest and being able to set up online.
Reviewer: Anthony
Must agree with Robin I'm afraid, and the more negative aspects of Cecile. Raboplus used to be by far the best rates, but now its possible for one to get 9% p.a. from some other banks. The Cash Advantage Fund is all good and fine, but the fact is your term deposits are no longer the best out there. I continue my banking with you because of the $1000 entry point and the ease of your website.
Reviewer: Robin
Thanks Mike. Great for individuals, Want about trusts ? Robin
Mike Heath: Robin the PIE regime also has significant benefits for those paying 19.5%, in that they can earn up to $60,000 in income and have it remain at 19.5%. We are going to feature this on our site in the near future, however in the meantime can I suggest you take a look at the IRD site.
Reviewer: Cecile
Great rates! Even though lately the other banks have been catching up with you (and sometimes surpassing you), few of them can match your entry point of $1,000 as most that I've seen ask for at least $10,000. This is great for those of us who don't have as much cash lying around. It also helps me spread my savings around to different terms so that I have some that are more readily accessible and others that earn higher interest.
Major trading banks are offering T/D rates well above their advertised rates. You are now way behind on what can be negotiated 12 mths or more. Robin
Mike Heath: Robin, thanks for taking the time to provide the feedback. Have you considered our Cash Advantage Fund as an alternative to a Term Deposit? You get all the benefits of an on-call-like product but with an effective rate of 9.85%p.a. for a 39% tax payer. And, for a 19.5% tax payer, you can almost double your income from PIEs and still stay at the 19.5% tax level. Take a look at the Cash Advantage Fund for more information.
I am very happy with RaboPlus account and term deposits, although I agree with other reviewers that longer term deposits' rates (6 months and over) are losing a bit of their appeal compared to other banks and finance companies. Considering the strength of the NZ$, something I would like to see in RaboPlus is the possibility of opening TDs in other currencies! Please let me know if this will be available any time soon, since I am seriously considering changing my NZ$ to Euros and I would have to do this with another bank unless RaboPlus gives me that option! Thanks! Lucia
Mike Heath: Lucia, we have looked at the foreign currency accounts but do not have any plans at present to offer them. Should this change we shall let people know in ActiveMoney.
Competitive rates and convenience in creating deposits online. Excellent
Best by far. Thanks for the great service.
I've been banking with you guys basically since inception (since Superbank pulled out) and initially your rates were a lot higher than any of the big banks however in recent times the rates have not been keeping pace with some of the other offerings. Although I love the ability to easily set up a term deposit whenever I have spare cash with just a few mouse clicks and no need to talk to a bank representative. Great
Reviewer: Allison
Hi, I agree that your mid term rates have definitely dropped off the pace - you mentioned 17 Feb that something would be happening to your TD offering over the coming weeks, but nothing as yet? Personally, I'd like to receive an email when TDs are due to mature, as i don't visit the website very often - is this possible? And being able to fix a maturity date would be good for me - a great idea!
Mike Heath: Alison, thanks for your response. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with our TD enhancements. We will be bringing them to market as soon as possible.
Reviewer: sam.h
How can you be profitable with such a high interest rate. What happens when interest rates go down.
Mike Heath: We will always offer our customers amongst the highest interest rates available in New Zealand for comparable products, if interest rates go up or down. Re our profitability, we make our money from lending the monies deposited with us to the NZ rural sector through our parent Rabobank New Zealand.
Reviewer: Mitchell
Great product and great service - thanks RaboPlus!! I have a question, which is the better option a Term Deposit or Cash Advantage Fund for someone with a 19.5% tax rate (e.g. I'm thinking my kids)? I am thinking Term Deposit, but just in case I'm missing something… what are your thoughts? Thanks.
Mike Heath: The Cash Advantage Fund is attractive to those on a 19.5% tax rate if they expect to earn up to $60,000 per annum from PIE products (see the IRD website for more details). If you don’t expect your children to earn as much as that then it comes down to features such as the interest rates, the minimum deposit and whether or not you need the flexibility of accessing the monies in an emergency.
Reviewer: Chao
National bank can offer 8.8% p.a interest rate on 270 days term.
Mike Heath: Thanks for the feedback. We do not currently offer a 270 day Term Deposit, however you can expect some significant enhancements to our TD offering over the coming weeks!
i have been banking with Rabo for almost a year, find the rates very attractive, this is the first i have gone through the reviews. i love the idea provided by Clark Street Tram Stables Ltd. your 30-90 days rates are brilliant, compounding interest on 3-6 months would be WOW. OVERALL - 6 ****** :)
Reviewer: David Blake
Is there any chance that your Cash Advantage Fund (PIE) will in the future accept term deposits?
Mike Heath: David thanks for the feedback. The launch of our Cash Advantage Fund was just the start of a number of significant enhancements to our Managed Funds offerings – watch this space!
Reviewer: Clark Street Tram Stables Ltd
Generally happy with the ease of use of the website and the competitive rates - although I'd endorse the observations of others that your 6 month and 1 year rates have slipped off the pace. A very easy "value added" service that you could include is the ability to fix your term deposit maturity date. It would be very convienient to be able to stipulate that I want my term deposits to mature on (say) 31 March or 30 June, rather than in 1 month or 3 or 6 months etc. Granted that I do not believe any of your current competitors offer this, but it has been done in the past. It would also be beneficial to be able to establish transactions to occur in advance . . . i.e. to deal with situations where you don't want to reinvest for same term but want to reinvest for longer or shorter term or combining two maturing investments etc. It's not always convienient to be online on the exact date that your investments mature in order to arrange the desired roll-overs. Regards, The Directors Clark Street Tram Stables Ltd
Mike Heath: Directors – thanks for the feedback. Without letting the cat out of the bag, I can confirm that we are going to make our TD offering even more compelling later in the year so please keep an eye out for the developments.
Reviewer: Nicola
I love the fact that your term deposits are available for small time investors like me. $1000 is a lot easier for me to find and invest than $5000 or $10,000. It may not seem much to the big boys, but it makes it exciting for me to be able to say that I have my money invested.
Have you any intention to offer monthly or quarterly interest payout on longer term (1year) deposits?Other banks are offering this option with a better rate.Very happy with on call & shorter terms however. Looking forward to the response!!!
Mike Heath: Thanks Don. Later in the year you'll see some big enhancements to our TD offering (refer our responses to Joe and Mary below). Also keep an eye on our blog for comments about developments at RaboPlus and in the wider industry.
Quarterly compouding interest would make you unbeatable! why not do it?
Mike Heath: Joe clearly our customers would like this (see response to Mary in Jan). We'll be enhancing our TD offering quite significantly later in the year. Make sure you subscribe to ActiveMoney to keep abreast with news from RaboPlus.
Reviewer: Sharolyn Turrell
Good rates, but would be good if you had the option to pay accrued interest out monthly or quarterly as for some other banks, especially for terms over a year.
Reviewer: mohammed khan
your 30-90 days very attractive.
Excellent rates for 3 and 6 months, BUT why will you not allow monthly compounding interest? This would make the rates even better.
Mike Heath: Mary watch this space – later in the year we will be bringing quite a number of significant enhancements to our TD offering, which I’m sure you’ll be very happy with. Also have a look at the Cash Advantage Fund – it acts like a deposit product but with the PIE tax benefits.
Reviewer: Ravi Merai
Your 30-90 day rates are very impressive.
Reviewer: Warren Kurney
I negotiated with my bank an even higher term deposit rate, which is higher than your 1 year term rate. You kill the opposition for 1,3 and 6 months but you are behind in 1 year terms. Very happy with your image, (your front woman is very very cute) rates, (in general) website, but one year terms are very attractive to a lot of investors. At least 2 institutions have 1 year term rates higher than yours. Not complaining, just giving you some feed back. as you will know, I am a substantial investor with your very reputable bank.
Mike Heath: Warren thanks for taking the time to provide this feedback. At RaboPlus we will offer consistently high interest rates to our customers.
Reviewer: Giselle
Pretty Good. Would be better it you competted with the $5000-$10000 rates aswell.
Mike Heath: Giselle, sorry, not exactly sure what you mean? We offer the same high rates to everyone irrespective of their deposit balance without penalising those on lower balances.
Reviewer: Tim
consisitently the highest rates! says it all!
Reviewer: Wim
Great rates. Bat can I please also have a Australian foreign currency account with your Ozzie rates!
Mike Heath: Thanks Wim for the suggestion. Currently offering foreign currency accounts is not in our immediate plans, however we will continue to monitor demand for them.
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