Month: December 2021

Government emissions reduction plan not ambitious enough

Recent submissions on the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) from the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), New Zealand Bankers’ Association (NZBA) and Toitū Tahua, the Centre for Sustainable Finance (TT CSF), show an extraordinary willingness among the private sector to engage collaboratively with government on the climate transition and emissions reductions pathways.

Credit crunch: Mortgage brokers hit back at lending rule changes

“The law change was meant to help vulnerable consumers avoid unaffordable debt. It’s also affecting people seeking home loans, where there are traditionally very low rates of borrowers being unable to make repayments. That’s still the case, but the law change has tightened banks’ ability to lend.”

Partnership boosts banking access

Financial mentors in small communities are helping people access banking services thanks to a partnership between FinCap and the New Zealand Bankers’ Association. A partnership agreement announced in March is now delivering for people living in places from Balclutha to Murupara through a Banking Collaboration Project funded in the first year of the partnership. Under… Read more »

Through the roof: Will sky-high building costs ever come down to earth?

Rather than see this as a matter for the banking industry as a whole, the New Zealand Bankers Association says it is an issue for each member institution to decide based on lending policies and appetite for risk, which would vary from bank to bank.