Kiwibank must be sold

Responding to the Commerce Commission’s final report into bank competition, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The way to make Kiwibank a ‘maverick’ that has the drive to make the banking sector more competitive is to sell it to private shareholders.

“When it’s people’s own money on the line, they will hustle harder than any Minister to outperform the bank’s competitors to increase market share. The only way to do that is by offering a better service or lower prices.

“It’s not just banks in New Zealand that are greedy and like making money, all banks do. If New Zealand banks are making significantly higher profits than the rest of the world, there must be overburdensome red tape that makes it too difficult for new banks to open here.

“The Government should further strengthen its focus on reducing anti-competitive regulation in the banking sector that stops more competition from entering the market. That is the only sure-fire way to ensure New Zealanders are getting a fair deal.”