Media Appearances

Media Appearances

Interest.co.nz - Commerce Commission prosecutes ‘reprehensible’ loan shark who charged interest rates as high as 1,738% to vulnerable consumers

- The New Zealand Bankers’ Association issued a statement applauding Hunt’s prosecution. NZBA chief executive Kirk Hope said at last year’s Financial Summit the banking industry had agreed with regulators and consumer groups that robust enforcement of existing consumer protection law was crucial to cracking down on rogue lenders who prey on vulnerable people.
Media Appearances

Interest.co.nz - ‘No wholesale move by banks to sell people out of their homes,’ bank lobby group says responding to Terralink pointing to ‘marked upturn’ in major banks forcing mortgagee sales

- Bank lobby group the New Zealand Bankers’ Association has hit back at suggestions from property information provider Terralink that mortgagee sales are rising because of a “marked upturn” in the major banks forcing them, saying the total number of mortgagee sales last year was less than 0.2% of the total number of mortgages and there’s... Read more »
Media Appearances

Stuff.co.nz - Banks cry foul over levy

- “The benefits to already responsible participants are not at all evident compared to the costs they are being asked to shoulder,” Hope said. While banks could pose a greater structural risk to the economy, Hope said the prudential risks of the sector were already being managed by the Reserve Bank. “At a structural level we’re talking about... Read more »
Media Appearances

NZ Herald - Banks pay big fees to fund FMA

- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope said it had no issue with an industry contribution to FMA costs but the levy was disproportionate to the benefits received.
Media Appearances

NZ Herald - Homeowners’ good news is savers’ loss

- While homeowners are jumping up and down with excitement over the low mortgage rates, savers aren’t having so much fun. “Balancing the needs and aspirations of borrowers and depositors, within the context of global uncertainty and a very competitive market, provides plenty of challenges for our banks,” Hope says.
Media Appearances

Interest.co.nz - Reserve Bank needs to promote banking competition after big 4 made more profit in 4yrs after crisis than before it, Green Party says

- New Zealand Bankers Association CEO Kirk Hope told interest.co.nz that there was a high level of competition between New Zealand banks. Banks in New Zealand also contributed around NZ$6 billion to the economy each year via their own operating expenses – mostly wages to over 25,000 employees – and taxes paid in New Zealand.