nib New Zealand chair Tony Ryall says meeting the demands of an aging population and consumer who expect better health outcomes is challenging amid rising interest rates and increasing cost pressures.

Kernel Wealth is reporting rising annual losses but its fee income rose 52.2% in the year ended March.

House prices stabilised earlier than the Reserve Bank was expecting which is one of the reasons why the central bank raised slightly its forecast track for its official cash rate (OCR), it says in its latest monetary policy statement.

The Reserve Bank is happier with how the banks are responding to changes in monetary policy than it was, governor Adrian Orr told parliament's finance and expenditure committee.

While the Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee left its official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at 5.5%, it has raised its forecasts from the first quarter of 2024 through to the September quarter of 2026, implying the OCR will stay at current levels for longer.

The highlight of the otherwise flat first-half results from AMP's New Zealand wealth management business was a more than doubling of net KiwiSaver cashflows.

Mint Asset Management's decision to transfer staff to Amplifi Management Services, which now charges Mint management fees, helped it cut costs 14.8% to $5.8 million in the year ended March 31.

TSB Bank is closing seven of its branches, a third of its branches throughout New Zealand, citing the move by customers to transacting online.

Sharesies is planning to lure more of the nearly 600,000 people who use its trading platform into its KiwiSaver offering by allowing them to self-select up to half their portfolios.

Tracking down the financial statements of fund managers is straightforward for most local managers but with a few it can be tricky to identify the reporting entity.

The year ended March was a particularly difficult one for New Zealand Funds Management.

Jarden Securities is planning to hive off its profitable wealth management business from its other stock broking and merchant banking activities.

The tale of two managers.

Mortgage broking aggregator Allied Kiwi has bought insurance broking company Metro Broker Link for an undisclosed sum.

Analyst downgrades forecast for Heatland's profit, but says if the company gets a banking licence it could make some "serious money". 

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard gave his 80th and last official cash rate announcement today and essentially pushed out the timing for any increases.