Chanticleer

What the big four banks can learn from the Kiwi ‘recession’

The CEO of ANZ’s New Zealand bank, Antonia Watson, can give her Australian colleagues a preview of what a rates-induced slowdown looks like. And for now, the news is good.

Jul 31, 2023 – 10.50am

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For a chief executive running a bank in the midst of an official recession, Antonia Watson seems pretty calm. And for good reason: the chief executive of ANZ’s New Zealand division and the country’s largest bank insists borrowers are holding up well under the combined hit from strong inflation and higher interest rates.

While Watson’s bankers have begun to see serviceability issues in ANZ’s Kiwi mortgage book, she describes the situation as manageable.

James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine.