- Chief executive Kirk Hope said, “We all have a role to play in the new anti-money laundering regime … This is about New Zealand’s international reputation and fighting crime.”
- Chief executive Kirk Hope said house prices were not being spurred along by looser credit conditions as the Reserve Bank claimed. Credit growth was running at about 3 per cent. “This isn’t a credit-driven price issue, it’s a supply-driven price issue,” he said.
- New Zealand Banker’s Association chief executive Kirk Hope said banks were now asking tougher questions of customers, particularly concerning their identity, and closing accounts if necessary.
- The Reserve Bank’s use of so-called macro-prudential tools to dampen a credit boom or bubble would ultimately see borrowers paying their banks higher loan rates, analysis commissioned by the New Zealand Bankers’ Association says.
- Bankers’ association chief executive Kirk Hope said banks were never the target of the measures contained in the bill, which was aimed at reining in abusive loan sharks and dodgy debt collectors. “The most vulnerable consumers could be protected by enforcing the existing laws,” he said.
- “Banks have worked really hard and have involved people like Writemark in the development of their product material,” Hope said. They also all have programmes to lift financial literacy among customers, and people in the community.
