BNZ and ANZ are trying to grow their market share by targeting first-home buyers, one expert says.

ANZ says it is still experiencing reasonable growth in the competitive home loan market.

New Zealanders have a negative perception of insurance and the insurance industry, new research for the Financial Services Council has shown.

Some insurers’ application forms’ fine print is so obscure that even the companies themselves don’t know what it contains.

It is becoming increasingly likely that the Reserve Bank may require Aucklanders in particular to have bigger deposits to buy property, economists say.

An increase in the number of Westpac customers who also have wealth products with the bank is a sign that its staff are having a new type of conversation with customers, says the bank’s general manager of business banking.

Asian consumers need brokers and advisers who can get out into the community to meet them, says the managing director of a firm setting its sights on the Chinese and Indian population.

Allowing default KiwiSaver schemes to approach their members to advise them on their investment mix would be a better way to improve financial literacy than ditching default schemes, says the president of the Institute of Financial Advisers.

Desperate would-be homeowners are turning to leaky buildings in an attempt to get a foothold in a hot Auckland property market.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says it wants to assure the financial advice sector that it does not have any formed views on whether the Financial Advisers Act should be changed.
 

Economists have expressed surprised at the optimistic nature of the latest Official Cash Rate announcement.

Economists have expressed surprised at the optimistic nature of the latest Official Cash Rate announcement.

It’s more than just the low official cash rate keeping the dollar high, says ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie.

A consultation process on the Financial Advisers Act is a good opportunity to make sure the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment understands what advisers actually do, says PAA chairman Peter Leitch.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has issued a discussion document on several aspects of the Financial Advisers Act, asking questions such as: Is the RFA terminology appropriate, or should it be replaced by something less likely to imply a licensed professional status?

New Zealand banks are significantly exposed to housing and farming lending, and are significantly dependent on funding from overseas, according to Massey University’s director of banking studies.