Kiwibank's cash PIE funds have topped a billion dollars just four months after the launch of its financial planning division and amid stiff competition from the term deposit war.

Investors waiting for another $233.5 million tied up in First Step investment trusts will probably have to wait a little longer as prospective buyers for the company's remaining assets dry up, putting "significant challenges in realising the remaining assets."

The prospect of a recovery in the Chinese economy is being treated with skepticism by some strategists and fund managers, who see the growing consensus among markets for a sustained rally in emerging markets as a false dawn.

Finance Minister Bill English and Australian Treasurer Wayne Swann have agreed on a scheme that will allow Australians and New Zealanders to transfer their retirement savings across the Tasman.

Asteron's new product enhancements has seen it rated number one for term life, income protection and business expenses and second for trauma on IRESS's financial planning software platform.

ANZ National Bank’s eight gauges of the housing market have reiterated the support the sector’s found with burgeoning net migration, but with a slowdown in winter typical, “it won’t be until spring that we will get a clearer picture.”

The Inland Revenue Department, which administers the government-sponsored superannuation scheme, is keeping an eye on distributors of KiwiSaver products to help avoid any confusion over where people's money is being held.

The Reserve Bank's risk management guidelines for non-bank deposit takers (NBDT) will boost the requirements of boards to monitor their operations, after the central bank released the first of several documents to introduce prudential regulation in the sector.

More a year after the PSIS wound down its partnership with Allied Mortgage Brokers to sell its home loans, it's eyeing up a return to the space within the next 12 months.

Viaduct Capital, the finance company that was suspended from the government's deposit guarantee scheme, will reapply for the scheme and denies the Treasury's allegations of failing due diligence on certain loans.

New Zealand residential property prices edged higher in June, while the volume of sales dipped after two monthly gains, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

BondWatch, the rating service for investors run by Grosvenor Financial Services, will have plenty of opportunities under the upcoming prudential regime, despite not being one of the headline rating agencies approved by the central bank.

Finance Minister Bill English will discuss the portability of superannuation with his Australian counterpart Wayne Swan at their annual meeting on July 16, and the country could stand to gain a "considerable amount" of some $16.6 billion that's held in "lost accounts" by Australian super schemes.

Federated Farmers is preparing to square off against the four major banks over the disparity between farm and residential mortgage rates.

Lombard Group's annual report has been passed with qualifications for the second year in a row after Hamilton-based accounting firm Auditors on London raised concerns about the valuation of debenture stock and the validity of the company's earnings being prepared as a going concern.

Lombard Group, the owner of Lombard Finance which owes 4,400 investors some $127 million, will become a shell company for Perth-based insurer Australian Consolidated Insurance.