- The week ahead is Money Week, and the banking industry is getting on board with a range of financial education activities. Mr Hope says banks are backing Money Week because they believe well-informed customers are better placed to make borrowing and investment decisions.
- A reduction in compliance costs could be on the way for small and medium sized companies if the new financial reporting bill passes later this year. New Zealand Bankers’ Association CEO Kirk Hope says the savings could be significant.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 »
- “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 »
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
