TSB Bank's mortgage book shrank for the first time in four years in the June quarter, reflecting the government moving to restrict the pool available to lend under its Welcome Home Loan scheme.

Westpac maintained its share of the mortgage market and its profitability jumped 81.3% in the June quarter, thanks to falling bad debts and a 25% rise in net interest income.

The Co-operative Bank's mortgage book grew by about the same as it market share in the June quarter, largely because of a jump in low equity lending.

Heartland New Zealand has decided not to even try to compete on price in the residential mortgage market, says chief executive Jeff Greenslade.

SBS Bank's profit jumped in the June quarter but its mortgage book shrank for a sixth successive quarter, reflecting the continuing impact of the Canterbury earthquakes.

GFNZ (formerly Geneva Finance) has finally nailed down the first $3 million tranche of debt funding promised by 20% shareholder, Federal Pacific Group.

Kiwibank says it plans to launch into the life insurance market by the end of the year but it has been selling risk since it started in 2002.

Fisher & Paykel Finance continues to be its parent company's "jewel in the crown," lifting operating earnings 6.9% in the four months ended July but its full-year result could be down on last year.

GFNZ's (formerly Geneva Finance) credit rating has been slashed to "currently highly vulnerable" after its failure to date to secure new funding.

Bank of New Zealand's net new mortgage growth slowed to its lowest pace in more than two years in the June quarter although profit jumped 34.4%.

Kiwibank's mortgage book continued to grow faster than its market share in the June quarter but its momentum continues to slow.

AMP's new business in the four key insurance products fell precipitously in the June quarter as its lapses and surrenders soared.

Subdued inflation expectations among both businesses and households reinforce perceptions interest rates won't be going up any time soon.

New business in the four key life insurance products bounced back strongly in the June quarter after an extremely weak March quarter and was up 5.3% from the June quarter last year.

ANZ has reported the biggest ever quarterly increase in home loans.

AMP New Zealand showed modest first-half growth and it says underlying trends in the business are “positive in a challenging market.”