Westpac has stunned everyone. The Reserve Bank cuts the OCR, the government does a victory lap promising relief is finally coming, and then Westpac sprints out of the blocks with a mortgage rate hike.

Kiwis are on their knees, desperate for a break, and the bank that holds the government contract is the first to crank rates up. You honestly couldn’t make this stuff up.

This episode, we call it exactly as we see it, then bring in economist Ed McKnight to explain what’s really going on. Ed breaks down why wholesale funding costs have jumped, why Westpac moved before anyone else, and whether the other banks are about to follow.

He also maps out where rates might head next and how long the brief low-rate window really lasted.

Plus, we dig into spending trends, business confidence, and why sentiment is shifting even before mortgage rates fall for everyone. It’s a big chat, and it’s one you shouldn’t miss.

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