On the bank, Nicola Willis is flying a kite and talking about a potentially partial float of the stock exchange for the wee Kiwi battler. It needs capital to grow and take on the big banks.
They're getting access to an extra half a billion through changes already announced. But they could yet get more, should National campaign on a partial float.
It's sounding more and more like they will.
And the question is whether most voters will care? I think not. Asset sales are not the great electoral disaster they were once portrayed as - just ask John Key who whipped Phil Goff's butt in 2011 on a platform of partially privatising assets.
On KiwiSaver... the Government's already upped the amount we pay, and our bosses pay on our behalf, towards retirement.
Our default contribution is going up to 4% over three years. Add your employer's and that's 8%.
Scott Simpson was at a conference yesterday and there's an interest.co.nz report quoting him as saying basically it'll happen before long. At a gradual pace.
But here's the thing... like the partial float of Kiwibank, this is all stuff that needs to happen.
The Aussies' pensions funds boast $4 trillion in balances. That money is put to work. It funds infrastructure. It builds wealth. It grows a domestic economy.
Our KiwiSaver balances, collectively, sit just above $100 billion.
It's David and Goliath.
So we need to save more. And if we're serious about a Kiwi bank taking on the Aussies and sticking it to them good and proper, we'll need some outside capital to give it that boost.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
2 comments:
This outside capital will most likely come from the Aussie banks. Why would they be interested in allowing foreign competitors into their sweet little captured market.
How about a concerted effort to source the required money from N.Z. and hence keep any overinflated profits in this country. Private health service providers and aged care facility owners seem to believe that superanuatants are a rich source of finance so why not attract some of their invested money away from the foreign banks with special deals, higher rates or tax concessions, always giving speedy access to a part of the investment to buy a small luxury such as a stair lift, hearing aids or new knee.
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