Refinance from ASB
Refinancing from ASB: what to check before your fixed rate ends
If your home loan is with ASB and split across more than a fixed term, this page walks through what to check before you decide whether to switch, refix or ask for a better deal. It is general information about how switching works, not a view on any bank's products.
Why people look at switching from ASB
A loan with ASB is not a lone decision, it is a series of them, each time a fixed term ends. When a loan is split, those decisions arrive at different times, and each renewal is a chance to ask whether the whole setup still suits you. A switch review is a structured way of asking that before a rollover happens by default.
Renewal dates that do not line up
Pieces of a split loan roll off on their own days. That can leave you making a rushed choice on a small piece, when a look at the whole loan would be more useful.
A rate gap on the piece that is ending
Rates on similar loans can differ between banks, so the piece that is ending is worth pricing elsewhere before it rolls over. What you are offered depends on your own loan and equity.
A tidier structure
Some people split a loan years ago for reasons that no longer apply. Folding pieces together, or rebalancing fixed and floating, can make the loan easier to manage.
Cashback tied to the whole balance
A new lender usually pays cashback on the amount it lends, so moving only a small piece may earn little. That is a reason to look at moving all of it together, if the break costs allow.
What switching involves
Moving a home loan away from ASB is a handful of separate steps, each with its own cost or deadline. The short version:
- Break fees, if you leave mid-term. Leaving a fixed rate early can cost a break fee. Moving at the end of the term normally does not.
- Cashback clawback, if you took cashback. Leaving inside the clawback period can mean paying cashback back. The clawback period is set in your cashback letter and often runs for several years. Typical new cashback has been around 0.8% of the loan (Canstar, checked 1 October 2026).
- Legal fees. There are legal fees for the discharge and the new mortgage, and some lenders contribute to them for a straightforward switch.
- Valuation, discharge and timing. The new lender may want a valuation, ASB may charge a discharge fee, and the whole job takes a few weeks.
The detail is in our guide to refinancing a home loan in NZ, and in our posts on how mortgage break fees are worked out and how cashback and clawback work. Indicative rates are on our home loan rates page.
A split loan, in date order
Say someone has an ASB loan in a handful of pieces: a portion on a shorter fixed term, a portion on a longer term, and a floating portion kept for flexibility. The order of the dates drives the plan. The pieces here are examples only, and your loan documents show your own.
1. First, list every piece
Write down each portion of the loan with its balance, its rate and the date its fixed term ends. The floating portion has no end date and can normally be repaid at any time, which makes it the easiest piece to move.
2. Next, find the first piece to expire
The portion ending soonest is where a switch is easiest to start. Moving it at its end date normally means no break fee. The pieces ending later are the ones where leaving early could cost something.
3. Then, ask for the exit figure on each later piece
Ask ASB for a written break fee figure for each remaining fixed portion, calculated for the date you would settle. The figures can differ a lot between pieces, depending on how much time is left and where rates have moved since you fixed.
4. Compare the routes
The first route moves everything at once and pays whatever the later pieces cost to exit. The other moves the expiring piece and the floating piece now, and leaves the rest to run to their own dates. Put the costs of each next to what the new lender would offer.
5. Plan the settlement
A partial move across lenders is uncommon and depends on both lenders agreeing, and it adds legal work. A full move needs just the discharge of the existing mortgage. Your lawyer and broker work out which applies, and settle on the day that suits the dates.
Staying with ASB is also an option
A review does not have to end in a move. Staying put is often a good result once the costs are netted off, and there are a few ways to do it.
- Refix only the expiring piece with ASB and leave the others untouched. It keeps your structure and avoids exiting anything early.
- Ask ASB to price all the pieces together when you speak to them.
- Reshape the split at renewal, for example by merging small pieces into a longer term, without leaving the bank, if the bank agrees.
With a split loan there is often a middle path, and it can be a good result: refix what is ending, leave the rest alone, and look again when the next piece comes up. Whether that beats a full switch depends on the numbers, which is why they are worth laying out.
What a broker does in a ASB switch
Online Home Loans is a referral service, so we do not do any of this ourselves. The mortgage broker we refer you to deals with you directly, and in a switch from ASB they typically do the following.
- Maps every end date and balance, so the plan is built on the real structure and not a guess.
- Collects an exit figure for each fixed piece and shows the cost of moving early next to the cost of waiting.
- Asks the new lender how it would treat a partial move, and whether it would rather take the whole loan.
- Sequences the discharge and the new loan so each part moves on a sensible day.
The paperwork in a split-loan switch is the same loan documents either way. The care goes into the planning, because a date chosen badly can add a break fee to a piece that could have waited.
What to have ready
A few documents make the first conversation quicker. You do not need all of them to enquire, but the more you have to hand, the faster the numbers come together.
- Your latest home loan statement, showing the balance, the rate and the date the fixed term ends.
- Your original loan documents, and any cashback letter with its clawback terms.
- Recent payslips, or tax returns and financial statements if you work for yourself.
- A rough idea of what your property is worth, such as a recent rating valuation.
- A table or list of each loan piece with its balance, rate and fixed term end date.
- Any note of why the loan was split in the first place, such as an offset account or a repayment plan.
Start with a short enquiry
Tell us a little about your loan and we will refer you to a mortgage broker who can talk through your options. We have already filled in ASB as your current bank, so that question is done. It takes about a minute, there is no credit check to enquire, and there is no obligation.
Common questions
- I have a split loan with ASB. Do I have to move all of it?
- No. A switch can cover the whole balance or only part of it, depending on how the loan is structured and how the new lender wants it set up. Break costs apply only to pieces still inside a fixed term.
- Which piece of my split loan is easiest to move first?
- Usually the floating portion, and the portion whose fixed term ends soonest. Neither normally carries a break fee. Pieces with a long time left are where leaving early can cost the most.
- What does it cost to leave ASB mid-term?
- That depends on your loan, the time left and where rates have moved since you fixed. your bank can give you a written break fee figure for a specific date, and it is the only figure that counts.
- Can I move part of my loan and keep part with ASB?
- Sometimes, but a partial move across lenders is uncommon and depends on both lenders agreeing. It also adds legal work, so ask a broker whether it is worth the effort for your amounts.
- Who would I deal with after I enquire?
- Online Home Loans is a referral service. We pass your details on once to a mortgage broker, who talks to you directly. We do not give advice, set rates or arrange lending.
Related reading
Everything on this page is general information about how switching works. It is not advice, and it does not say what any bank charges or offers. Your loan documents and a written figure from your bank are what count.
General information only, not advice. We're a referral service. Mortgage advisers are usually paid a commission by the lender. If your loan settles, the adviser's business may pay Online Home Loans a referral fee. It is not added to your loan and does not change what you pay.