Kiwibank cash PIEs top a billion dollars

The bank's wealth advisers have had "considerable growth" since officially starting work in March, according to wealth general manager Tracey Berry, and she's ecstatic with the success to date.

"We had big growth for last month in cash PIEs," Berry said. "The difficult part is raising awareness for those people on higher incomes who get tax incentives from a PIE."

The billion dollar mark is an important milestone for Berry, who is pleased the new unit has been able to remain competitive in a tough environment. The intensifying competition in the term deposit space has squeezed some customers away from PIEs as people look to fix in short-term gains, but that won't always give them the greatest long-term return, she said.

Term deposits grew 15% to $93.1 billion in May, according to the latest central bank statistics, from the same month a year earlier, despite interest rates tumbling over the same period.