ASB Bank's decision to concentrate on profit margins is coming at the obvious cost of market share – in the September quarter, its mortgage book shrank by $152.2 million, according to the Reserve Bank's bank financial strength dashboard.

Nobody is expecting the Reserve Bank to do anything when it releases its latest monetary policy statement and economic forecasts next Wednesday but there's a debate raging about when it will start cutting interest rates.

US-based TA Associates is looking to exit its 34% stake in Fisher Funds, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Payments NZ is bidding for its API Centre to be at the centre of not just open banking but of data sharing in other industries such as energy and telecommunications.

When Don Brash became the first central bank governor in the world to target a specific inflation outcome, then zero to 2%, he stumped the country with his message about how bad inflation was, often calling it “the thief in your pocket.”

Accuro Health Insurance Society's policyholders have overwhelmingly approved the Wellington-based health insurer's merger with Christchurch-based Union Medical Benefits, known as UniMed, to form New Zealand's third largest health insurer.

Home-grown insurance management software company JAVLN has signed up another Australian insurance brokers, BJS Insuance Group to use its client and policy management technolgy.

The Financial Markets Authority's strong push to move away from compliance to address perceived harm missed by the current regulatory regime raises serious questions for the financial services sector, according to law firm DLA Piper.

Premiums collected by health insurance companies jumped 8% to $2.24 billion in the June quarter compared with the March quarter, according to the latest data released by the Financial Services Council (FSC).

The Financial Markets Authority has imposed a temporary order forbidding David McEwan and all entities associated with him from offering any financial products, communicating with anyone about those offers or accepting any new deposits or investments.

Only about 50 of Kiwibank's home loan customers were financially stressed enough to have needed intensive help to work through the impact of rising mortgage interest rates, chief executive Steve Jurkovich told an NZX webinar.

Fidelity Life has started publishing its turnaround times with advisers each month to demonstrate its commitment to getting “back in the game.”

Westpac New Zealand says about 88% of its mortgage customers have already rolled over to fixed-term rates of 5% or higher and that 54% are paying interest rates between 5% and 7%.

Forsyth Barr won't comment on speculation it may be the front-runner to buy Hobson Wealth but says it is “an active participant” in its industry.

Pockets of financial stress among households are likely to grow in the medium term because of rising debt-servicing burdens, but most mortgage borrowers have kept up with their payments so far, says the Reserve Bank.

More than a month ago, Southern Cross asked if I'd like to meet their chief executive, Nick Astwick when he was next in Wellington and a date was agreed: Friday, Oct 27.