Media

Stuff - Big banks close more than 460 ATMs and bank branches over 18 months

June 27, 2021 - “I heard a story a couple of weeks ago from one of our major banks where one of their branches was averaging six transactions a week. That’s not six transactions an hour or six transactions a day. Six transactions a week.”

NZ Herald - Under pressure from mayors, Finance Minister tried unsuccessfully to get banks to extend ‘hubs’

June 21, 2021 - NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont said Covid-19 had a significant impact on how customers used bank branches, the banking hubs and the commitments made by the six participating banks “none of which could have been foreseen when the trial was announced”.

Interest.co.nz - RBNZ finally gets conditional agreement from the Finance Minister for debt serviceability tools, but the initial one it’s able to use is likely to be one pushed by the bank lobby group

June 17, 2021 - This is the alternative to a DTI ratio tool suggested by bank lobby group the New Zealand Bankers’ Association in its response to the 2017 consultation. NZBA argued the evidence linking high-DTI loans and loan defaults was weak, with job loss having the most significant impact on the likelihood of loan default.

Stuff - Consumer NZ: Nearly one in five had a problem with their bank in past year

June 17, 2021 - “Frontline bank staff were inundated with calls from customers seeking assistance with lending and cashflow. And there has also been a huge increase in home loan applications in the last year. Given all this, it’s perhaps not surprising that some more customers had a less-than-perfect experience, and yet our research shows public attitudes to banking... Read more »

NZ Herald - Face to face banking fees should be dropped – Age Concern

June 16, 2021 - “Anyone concerned about their bank fees should talk to their bank to discuss their particular situation and how they can avoid fees,” he said. “Some banks waive fees for older customers. Everyone’s circumstances are a bit different and it pays to have a chat about how your bank can help you.”

Otago Daily Times - Just you wait

June 14, 2021 - Beaumont said banks understood change could be difficult for some customers. “When these often challenging decisions are made, banks put in place significant programmes to communicate and support their customers through the change.”

NZ Herald - Diana Clement: It pays to switch banks and the good news is it’s easy

May 30, 2021 - The New Zealand Bankers’ Association says for banking talk to your new bank, which will provide you with a Switching Bank Request Form. Once you’ve completed and returned that form your bank will identify and transfer over all your recurring payments, taking most of the pain away. Nice.

NZ Herald - First-home buyers: $100k in the bank and still no luck in the market

May 22, 2021 - Beaumont said banks lend where they can, subject to lending criteria, which includes the borrower’s equity or deposit and their ability to repay the loan, so they weren’t “going in over their head”.

NBR - Business Banks grilled over branch closures

May 19, 2021 - Politicians from both sides of the House sought answers on how banks would protect the estimated 1% to 2% of customers who were likely to never access digital banking services. NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont said phone banking was an “elegant solution” for customers in this situation, because most still had a landline.

NZ Herald - Northland Mayor John Carter slams banks for ‘ignoring’ rural NZ

May 18, 2021 - “It’s great to have interest in our banking hubs trial from regions like the Far North. Banks are closing some branches because customers prefer more convenient ways of banking. Some branches get fewer than 10 customers a day.”