Claire Matthews: Will the next Reserve Bank governor relax capital requirements for banks?....

Calculated risk: will the next Reserve Bank governor relax capital requirements for banks?

Adrian Orr has so far not spoken about the reasons for his recent and unexpected resignation as Reserve Bank governor, but the sudden departure caused understandable speculation.

One suggestion has been that Orr was at odds with the government over his requirement that the Australian-owned New Zealand banks hold high levels of capital compared to other countries.

Michael Reddell: Inquiring into banking

Hard on the heels of the Commerce Commission’s inquiry into some aspects of banking competition, Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee is also holding an inquiry. Submissions weren’t open for very long and have now closed, but the full terms of reference are here. It is a select committee inquiry, so it is hard to be optimistic anything very useful will come from it. Select committees are poorly resourced, even if they wanted to make a serious contribution, and the incentives seem to be almost entirely partisan political in nature.

Damien Grant: Ability to participate in commercial life should not depend on public opinion

I’ve been thinking about banks recently. Well. Bankers, more precisely. In my profession, I often encounter them in their natural habitat. A remarkably timid breed of failed accountants and nervous middle managers who have stumbled into positions of power.

Banking, and bankers, have evolved.

Clive Bibby: Banking and the Courts

I happened to catch Hon Judith Collins (one of the more reliable ministers in the current cabinet) answering questions in the House about the government’s decision to allow some forms of genetic engineering to proceed beyond the laboratory stage.

While interested in her reply to the normal concerns about the genie escaping from the bottle, l was able to reflect on perhaps more important areas of Crown responsibility where it already had.

Professor Aaron Gilbert: Want NZ banking to be more competitive? Then make it easier to switch banks

The Commerce Commission’s banking market study has concluded more competition is required to reduce the profits of the big four banks. But the report suggests increasing competition may be ineffective unless customers are easily able and willing to switch between banks.

In 2023, the four Australian banks operating in New Zealand made approximately NZ$7.1 billion in profit, representing $1,400 per person. Despite many customers struggling due to increasing mortgage costs, the banks’ profits rose.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 20/8/24

The banking sector: Kiwibank will play a role in keeping the bastards honest (or in making them more competitive)

Zeus Publications in 2005 published a book written by Stephanie Retchless, a former Australian bank manager, who recounted her experience in a job which, she claimed, was lacking in ethics and basic human decency. The book was titled Are All Banks B****ds?

Professor Martien Lubberink: Owner beware - 4 reasons why selling part of Kiwibank could do more harm than good

To sell, or not to sell – that is the question various governments have asked since Kiwibank was established in 2002. Now it’s the turn of the current National-led coalition to examine the bank’s state ownership.

Ministers have asked Kiwibank’s board to explore avenues for the bank’s expansion, potentially including private sector or Crown entity investment.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 12/6/24

News of visit by Chinese Premier is belatedly posted on Beehive website – now we await official post of banking inquiry

Let the record show that the PM’s news about China’s Premier visiting New Zealand this week was posted on the government’s website yesterday, after Point of Order had published its June 11 Buzz report.

Martien Lubberink: ComCom diagnoses the problem with NZ’s banking industry

ComCom diagnoses the problem with NZ’s banking industry – but will its solutions offer a real fix?

The New Zealand Commerce Commission recently released a draft report on the state of personal banking services in New Zealand. Unsurprisingly, the market study found a marked lack of competition among the largest financial institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand.

But will the government bailout of Kiwibank in 2022 or the arrival of fintechs make any long-term difference? If the commission’s report is to be believed – probably not.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 22/3/24

Forget about what government spending is being cut – take a look at what this spending has done and is doing

Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed into its sails.

Dave Witherow: Occurrences

We seem to have more problems than usual these days. Here are just a few of them, briefly summarised.

 Climate Change - Global Warming. 

 The climate has always been changing, and there is little evidence  that human activities are more than marginally involved. We are told there is consensus, but in fact many scientists conclude that the climate panic is no more than a hoax, foisted on a gullible, misinformed public, who are thereby being closed out of cheap food and energy, normal means of travel, and affordable housing.  Their rulers, however - Bill Gates and Al Gore and Klaus Schwab and the rest of them – do not propose to share this new lifestyle.

 The whole field is complex, far beyond any thumbnail analysis, but read “Unsettled”, by Steven Koonin, or see Ian Plimer (Youtube), for alternative viewpoints on this orchestrated fraud.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: We shouldn't force banks to refund people who've been scammed

As sorry as I feel for people who’ve been scammed out of cash, and I do, I don’t think banks should be forced to refund them.

There’s quite a successful scam going around at the moment involving a text purporting to come from New Zealand and quite a few scam victims have spoken to media in the last few days.

The guy who was in Australia for work got a text purporting to be from BNZ saying his account had been frozen. He clicked it, entered his details- and lost $35,000.

Point of Order: Clark enlightens us about open banking

While Sio throws light (through a Maori world lens) on what once was blind justice

It’s the announcement we saw coming when Newshub revealed the Government was poised to announce a major change to banking, “which experts say will slash their profits”.

This news was broadcast as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was adding her voice to the populist chorus of disapproval about those profits.

It so happened the government was working on a concept called “open banking”, whereby customers can move their bank accounts, direct debits and what-have-you between banks.