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You’d expect the banks to be worried at the prospect of having their business impinged on in such dramatic fashion. But Kirk Hope, chief executive of industry lobby group the New Zealand Bankers Association, is remarkably calm.

Inland Revenue Department

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The New Zealand Bankers’ Association is urging the public to be on guard against a telephone scam.

Scammers purporting to be from the New Zealand Bankers’ Association are phoning members of the public and saying they are investigating banks charging excessive fees and offering compensation to affected customers. They then ask people to provide their bank account details so they can “refund” fees.

“This is a scam. Anyone receiving such a call should not provide any personal information,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“This provides a useful reminder to safeguard information relating to your bank accounts, and never to disclose your PIN numbers or account passwords to anyone, including people you trust.

“Never give out account details over the phone unless you made the call and you trust that the number you called is genuine. Ask for a name and number so you can call them back, and check that number against a number you know to be genuine.

“The New Zealand Bankers’ Association, and its member banks, will never ask a customer to disclose their PIN number or account password,” said Hope.

This kind of scam is known as “phishing”. Phishing attempts are usually made by email or phone. They can also be made by text message. Phishing scams try to get your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.

Commerce Committee

Analysis released today shows New Zealand’s major banks continue to perform well in the face of increased operating costs and greater regulatory pressures.

The findings were contained in PwC’s Banking Perspectives report of the five major banks’ banks’ results for the second half of their 2012 financial years.

“The report shows our banks are among the best funded and regulated in the world, and that’s good for New Zealanders and the economy,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

The report notes a number of New Zealand banks appear in Global Finance Magazine’s World’s 50 Safest Banks list for 2012.

A 12 per cent increase in profits in the 2012 year compared to 2011 was largely driven by a reduction in banks’ bad debt expenses.

The average return on equity has decreased from 16 per cent in 2007 to 14 per cent in 2012. “We have found these returns fall in the middle of the pack compared to major NZX listed companies,” Hope said.

Bank operating expenses are up 16 per cent since the first half of 2010. This is in part driven by a significant volume of new regulation. This ranges from the enhanced anti-money laundering regime to needing to maintain higher capital levels and increasing reliance on domestic and longer term overseas funding. Other current regulatory initiatives include consumer and securities law reform, responding to US tax avoidance law, and preparing systems to help recapitalise a bank in case of potential failure.

Within this context competition remains high among banks, as does customer satisfaction at 92 per cent according to a Consumer NZ survey. “Banks work hard to attract and keep their customers,” Hope added.

New Zealand’s long awaited anti-money laundering laws are now in place, almost four years after Parliament passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act.

Kirk Hope says there are a range of questions that need to be addressed in considering tools that restrict amounts that can be borrowed to buy houses.

Mortgagee sales continue to decline according to Terralink data for the September quarter released today.

There were 516 mortgagee sales in the three months from July to September this year, down 15 per cent from the June quarter.

Of the 1.4 million residential mortgages in New Zealand, there were 2265 mortgagee sales in 2011. Mortgagee sales account for around 0.2 per cent of all mortgages.

“Mortgagee sales are always the last resort for banks. It’s not in anyone’s interests that they occur,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“Banks work very hard with customers who find themselves in financial difficulty. People who are having trouble should speak to their bank as soon as possible.”

Kirk Hope talks to Firstline about fraud safety and the year in review.

In the lead-up to Christmas the New Zealand Bankers’ Association has reminded people how to avoid fraud and scams over the holiday season.

“This is a special time of the year to share with family and friends. Whether we’re shopping or away on holiday, it pays to take care. We all have an important role to play in protecting ourselves from financial crime,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“We always need to take care, and the holidays are a good time to remember a few simple ways to keep ourselves safe.”

Card safety:

When shopping and banking online:

If you use your mobile phone for banking: