Heartland New Zealand says now is the time to have greater control of the essential finance industry.

Rising wholesale funding costs obviously aren't hurting New Zealand banks because they have been lowering their fixed rate mortgages, said Jason Wong, head of financial markets intelligence at the Reserve Bank.

The chances floating mortgage rates will rise this year just became more remote as Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard held his official cash rate (OCR) steady.

Mortgage approvals data is showing an increasing number of home loans being approved but nowhere near to the extent implied by credit reporting agency Veda Advantage's latest figures.

Sluggish growth in net mortgage lending appears to be driving some of the major banks to compete by aggressively loosening their credit criteria with ASB Bank leading the charge even as its mortgage book continues to shrink.

Blue Star Group's performance in the six months ended December was "considerably worse" than expected, it is unlikely to meet its prospectus forecasts and there's a risk it may breach its banking covenants, the printing company said.

OnePath, formerly ING, continued to suffer declining new life insurance business in the December quarter while market leader Sovereign's share of new business surged to its highest level since the June 2010 quarter.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia-owned ASB Bank's mortgage book shrank for a seventh successive quarter in the three months ended December although profit rose strongly.

The loan-to-valuation ratio table in the bank's latest disclosure statement shows its mortgage book grew just $29 million to $35 billion in the three months ended December.

Sluggish growth in net mortgage lending appears to be driving some of the major banks to compete by aggressively loosening their credit criteria with ASB Bank leading the charge even as its mortgage book continues to shrink.

Allied Farmers continued to write down its former Hanover assets in the six months ended December which contributed to its overall $9 million loss.

ANZ Bank's profit rose strongly in the December quarter but its mortgage book shrank for a third successive quarter.

TSB Bank's profit jumped but its mortgage book barely budged in the December quarter as customers tried to reduce debt and competitors ramped up incentives to attract borrowers.

The Co-operative Bank's December quarter profit fell 34.6%, partly reflecting the costs of becoming a bank, while its mortgage book grew at about the same rate as its market share.

Kiwibank's second quarter profit near quadrupled and its mortgage book continued to grow strongly, albeit at a slower pace than the previous two quarters.

TNP insists it isn't out to “rape, pillage and plunder” with its plan to form its own professional association but many in the mortgage advisory industry are incensed.