- “Many of us do enjoy being able to see all our accounts online at a glance, including our growing KiwiSaver balance. The performance of the banks’ funds is also a factor worth taking into account.”
- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope said: “Banks take their obligations under the act very seriously. “We’re aware that one of the consequences of banks implementing the law is that some customers providing money remittance services have had their accounts closed.”
- “As we have raised previously in discussions with you, the Code is not drafted in plain language despite the fact that the Code itself requires lenders to provide documentation drafted in plain language to assist customers,” NZBA says in its submission.
- Contracts should be viewed in the context of the consumer credit law within which they operate, rather than in isolation, the New Zealand Bankers’ Association said.
- “Only 3 per cent of New Zealand credit card holders pay the minimum each month,” he said. “That’s compared to 13 to 14 per cent in the US and UK. More than half of New Zealanders who have credit cards pay off their balance in full each month, while only a third in the US... Read more »
- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope says the association welcomes the Bank of China as the latest participant in the New Zealand banking industry.
- Hope says the profits are result of the government’s “prudent fiscal management”, which has kept New Zealand’s economy strong. “It’s probably a preferable outcome to the opposite, which is what we’re seeing in Europe, where there is continued malaise, businesses are unable to get lending to help grow the economy and there are real problems.”
- Aucklanders feeling wealthier on the back of higher property valuations are being urged not to borrow more on what is essentially “paper wealth”. Kirk Hope, chief executive of the Bankers’ Association, said banks would be very discerning. “Just because a value increases doesn’t mean they will be able to borrow more,” he said.
- Chief executive Kirk Hope said: “Size is among a number of factors that banks may take into account when looking at lending on apartments. When lending on small apartments the bank needs to consider if it will get its money back in case of default. It may not where demand for very small residences is... Read more »
- Hope encourages borrowers to get in touch with their bank as soon as possible if their circumstances change. If they think they can’t make the payment then borrowers could go on a mortgage holiday or restructure the loan to stretch it out over a longer timeframe lowering the repayment levels.
