The worse the economy is, the more positive it is for investors in fixed interest, and “it's looking pretty dire at the moment,” according to Fergus McDonald, head of bonds and currency at Nikko Asset Management.

Australia continues to be the lucky country but the New Zealand economy is in for a tough time,  according to British-based economist Andrew Hunt.

Southern Cross Health Society has acknowledged it removed a $60,000 a year benefit for non-surgical hospitalisation from its policies but is claiming it advised both advisers and policyholders of the change.

Pepper Money says it has bought HSBC's New Zealand mortgage book which is expected to have outstanding balances of about $1.4 billion when the transaction settles, expected in late November.

Insurance advisers are discovering that Southern Cross quietly dropped a $60,000 a year benefit for non-surgical hospitalisation without telling either advisers or Southern Cross policyholders.

Heartland Bank debt consolidation is one of the reasons behind the growing loan balances in its New Zealand reverse mortgage book.

Heartland's reverse mortgage businesses grew at more than 20% in the year ended June, the fastest of all its operations.

nib New Zealand is expecting that the types of health and related life insurance won't be something households hard-pressed by the rising cost of living will want to cut from their budgets.

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.