- The New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Karen Scott-Howman says: “Under the law banks do not de-risk whole classes of customers. Instead, they apply their obligations under the AML/CFT regime on a case by case basis.
- New Zealand banks operate in a different environment from those in Australia. Here we have strong and independent regulators, a very competitive banking sector and high levels of customer satisfaction.
- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Karen Scott-Howman said the way people banked had “changed hugely” in recent years. She said “only a fraction” of banking transactions were done in branches these days. “This means some branches no longer make commercial sense.”
- Banks are responsible lenders and take into account a number of factors when making lending decisions. That includes testing affordability at higher interest rates and factoring in realistic essential expenditure.
- Lending decisions on any property are made on a case by case basis. It’s quite possible that in time banks would require more equity or shorter term mortgages when considering lending on potentially affected coastal properties.
- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Karen Scott-Howman said the Reserve Bank had “stress-tested” our banks and found them strong enough to withstand a severe downturn.
- Karen Scott-Howman said banks were constantly responding to customer preferences. “That’s certainly the case with mobile and internet banking. We’re not seeing that kind of demand for Sharia-compliant banking here.”
