Briefs: ASB sponsors All Blacks, Firstmac cuts mortgage rates, RBS cuts jobs 06 March 2015 4:39PM Banking Day staff Briefs, Commonwealth Bank of Australia's ASB Bank has signed a multi-year deal to become the banking sponsor of the New Zealand Rugby Union, including the All Blacks during this year's Rugby World Cup in Britain and the New Zealand Sevens team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year. ASB will be known as the official bank of the All Blacks, but will not replace the current shirt sponsor, insurer AIG. ASB will be hoping it is not gazumped like it was at the 2012 Olympics when ANZ signed up as the 'official insurer' of the New Zealand Olympic team and then over-powered ASB as 'official bank' of the team with heavy advertising and marketing during and after the Olympics. ANZ today announced yesterday that variable interest rates for its Australian retail home loans will remain unchanged after its March interest rate review. ANZ's annual standard variable home loan rate remains at 5.63 per cent. In contrast, non-bank originator and distributor, Firstmac, announced a series of special offers, including waiver of the A$295 annual fee on its broker friendly 'VIP package' and cuts of up to 33 basis points to its fixed rate loans.Royal Bank of Scotland could be cutting as many as 80 per cent of the jobs in its investment banking unit over the next four years as part of a massive restructuring, intended to turn around the struggling bank's fortunes. The Financial Times reports that RBS has been scaling down its investment banking business and plans to lay off up to 14,000 people in that unit by 2019. The majority of the job cuts will come in the US and Asia.