NZ minister lashes Australian banks over country services

A New Zealand government minister says its banking rules need a review to keep its Australian-owned banks in line.

NZ MP Shane Jones (right) with acting PM Winston Peters. Picture: Getty Images

New Zealand’s regional development minister has lashed out at Australian-owned banks, saying they take a miserly approach to their rural Kiwi customers and that a review of the law might be in order.

Minister Shane Jones, who styles himself as the “champion of the regions”, on Thursday criticised the Aussie companies over the closure of regional branches. “If the Aussie banks are going to continue to profit at $5 billion a year then in my view it’s not unreasonable they be required to maintain a level of service,” he told Radio NZ.

“I can guarantee you that the Aussie-owned banks are offering a range of services that are more efficient and cheaper to their own people than we’re putting up with in provincial New Zealand.”

Mr Jones said he would be seeking advice from New Zealand’s Reserve Bank about banking licences before looking at policy options.

In a statement, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said: “Minister Jones has raised an issue important to some in rural communities that we will have a look at”.

New Zealand’s four big banks are all Australian-owned and in the past two years about 50 branches are estimated to have been closed across the country.

The bank worker’s First Union says the companies are retreating from rural areas to cut costs.

Westpac, BNZ (owned by National Australia Bank) and ASB (owned by CBA) declined to comment, referring questions to the New Zealand Bankers’ Association.

ANZ did not reply directly to the ministers comments, but said customers in rural areas were moving to online banking and that removing branches did not entail an end to service.

Mr Jones has gained a reputation in recent months for criticising major New Zealand businesses, including state-owned Air New Zealand, over their treatment of people in rural areas.

AAP