Media Appearances

Interest.co.nz - What’s in the banking code and why should you care. Amanda Morrall talks to Kirk Hope from the NZ Bankers’ Association

June 29, 2012 - It may never rival the popularity of the Da Vinci Code, but there is good reason why everyday banking customers will want to read the Code of Banking Practice

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

June 29, 2012 - 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.

Interest.co.nz - Amanda Morrall looks at the principles of responsible lending and finds out how to shark proof your borrowing plan with high interest lenders

June 29, 2012 - n defence of lenders, Hope said it needs to be recognised by those critical of finance companies that the circumstances of borrowers (particularly those using credit facilities) can change from the time of the loan.

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

June 13, 2012 - 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 »

Stuff.co.nz - Banks cry foul over levy

June 7, 2012 - “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 »

NZ Herald - Banks pay big fees to fund FMA

June 7, 2012 - 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.

NZ Herald - Homeowners’ good news is savers’ loss

June 2, 2012 - 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.

Interest.co.nz - HSBC and the Co-operative Bank both cut some advertised fixed-term mortgage rates and some term deposit rates

May 22, 2012 - Bank lobby group, the New Zealand Banker’s Association (NZBA), says cuts in fixed interest rates highlight the level of “intense competition” in the New Zealand banking sector.

Interest.co.nz - RBNZ pushes out timeframes for the introduction of the Basel III capital reforms and its Open Bank Resolution policy

May 10, 2012 - Kirk Hope, CEO of bank lobby group the New Zealand Banker’s Association, said it was positive the timeframe for OBR’s implementation had been pushed back but it was still too tight.

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

May 10, 2012 - 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.