Month: April 2022

The New Zealand Bankers Association said 44 per cent of people with home loans were ahead and paying more than the minimum in repayments. About 1.2 million Kiwis currently had a mortgage.

“The new rules have a one-size-fits-all approach for all lenders and all loan types and values, which has seriously impacted people applying for home loans. The new rules require banks to collect and verify much more information from customers, and the prescriptive approach means banks don’t have the same discretion or flexibility they used to.”

New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said factors outside banks’ control such as the rising cost of living and the ongoing economic impact of Covid-19 had negatively affected consumer sentiment generally, and that in turn impacted how people feel about banks.

“Banks work closely with customers through a range of options before considering a mortgagee sale. Some people may choose to sell the property themselves before it gets to a mortgagee sale.”

New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said it was looking at the proposed tweaks to the new lending rules and expected to make a submission on the current consultation.

ASB chief executive Vittoria Shortt has been elected chair of the New Zealand Bankers’ Association, and BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins was elected deputy chair.

“We’re not surprised the government’s new rules are making some customers unhappy, and our front line workers bear the brunt of that. It’s also not surprising they’re complaining to the Banking Ombudsman about it, even though we’re not responsible for the rule change,” Beaumont said.

Beaumont said he was not surprised the government’s new rules were making some customers unhappy, and front line workers were bearing the brunt of that. “It’s also not surprising they’re complaining to the Banking Ombudsman about it, even though we’re not responsible for the rule change.”