Latest / Best of Business / Nicola Willis: Finance Minister says boosting the banking competition top of mind following recent announcement

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Nicola Willis: Finance Minister says boosting the banking competition top of mind following recent announcement · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZEDB. Follow this
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  Speaker 2: Right now, though, it is time to get you across
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  Speaker 2: what's happening with the Finance Minister. Nicola Willis is with
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  Speaker 2: us live from Wellington. Minister, good evening, Good evening, Ron,
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  Speaker 2: Great to have you on the show. I want to start.
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  Speaker 2: There's obviously a lot to talk to you about the
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  Speaker 2: Kiwi bank changes, the ComCom report more generally, but let's
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  Speaker 2: start with the poll for our listeners. The latest one
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  Speaker 2: News Comma Brunton Pole has national steady on thirty seven percent,
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  Speaker 2: Labor steady on twenty nine, Greens down two on ten,
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  Speaker 2: the Maori Party to Party Marti is up three on
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  Speaker 2: seven percent. What do you think, Deputy Prime Minister, what
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  Speaker 2: does this tell us about sentiment out there?
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  Speaker 3: Well, thanks for the promotion. I'm not the Deputy Prime minister,
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  Speaker 3: but i'll take it from you. Look, I think that
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  Speaker 3: New Zealanders want to see the government focused on the
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  Speaker 3: things that affect them and their families, which is right now.
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  Speaker 3: It's the economy, it's jobs, it's incomes, it's the cost
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  Speaker 3: of loving. It's also that they want to see good
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  Speaker 3: education services. They want to see law and order restored
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  Speaker 3: health services. And yes there's been a significant debate about
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  Speaker 3: the Treaty Principal's Bill, and yes there are some voters
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  Speaker 3: who have shifted. But ultimately, as you see, the lead
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  Speaker 3: party and the government, the National Party is holding its vote.
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  Speaker 2: The Taxpayer Union Caurier Pole, not so rosy for you. You
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  Speaker 2: lost four point six points to the act Party. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: strategy seems to be working. Now he's stealing your votes.
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  Speaker 3: Well, looks as I say, there's a range of polls
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  Speaker 3: out there. We don't try and pay too much attention
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  Speaker 3: to any particular poll. We look at the trend over time,
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  Speaker 3: of course, to be aware of what New Zealanders are
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  Speaker 3: thinking and saying, we listen to them. And what I'm
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  Speaker 3: hearing in the communities that I've been in is that
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  Speaker 3: they want us really focused on the economy, on education,
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  Speaker 3: on health, on making sure our police have the support
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  Speaker 3: they need, and that's what we're focused on.
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  Speaker 2: With Kiwibank. You've gone for the option of potentially an
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  Speaker 2: IPO down the track, but at the moment, five hundred
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  Speaker 2: million dollars lent needed from investors. You know, can we
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  Speaker 2: say of funds, et cetera. Why not go the full IPO.
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  Speaker 3: For two reasons. One kee We Bank themselves have said
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  Speaker 3: to us, we're not going to be ready for that
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  Speaker 3: until around twenty twenty eight because they're in the midst
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  Speaker 3: of a big digital transformation an investment, and they think
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  Speaker 3: that they'll be better placed for a public offering once
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  Speaker 3: that is complete. Second reason is that we've said that's
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  Speaker 3: not something we'll do in this term of government, but
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  Speaker 3: it is something that could happen in a future government.
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  Speaker 2: Are you leaving is that a further threat to the
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  Speaker 2: big banks?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I'm not interested in threatening the big banks.
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  Speaker 2: I'm interested Hang on, it's been fair. That's exactly what
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  Speaker 2: you did today.
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  Speaker 3: Well, can I tell you what my end goal is here?
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  Speaker 3: My end goal is I want more competitive banking services
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  Speaker 3: for New Zealanders. That means fearer prices, that means a
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  Speaker 3: more innovative services, that means a better range of services.
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  Speaker 3: And what the Commerce Commission and others have said is
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  Speaker 3: we lack robust competition in our banking sector, which means
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  Speaker 3: that New Zealand bank users are missing out on some
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  Speaker 3: of the benefits people over the Ditch get and people
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  Speaker 3: in other countries around the world get So what my
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  Speaker 3: end goal is, Let's make sure Keywis get a fairer
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  Speaker 3: deal and on the way through. Yep, that's going to
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  Speaker 3: involve some disruption to the major banks, and I'm putting
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  Speaker 3: it to them. They have every opportunity to do better,
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  Speaker 3: so they can do that today, and I'm asking them
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  Speaker 3: to do that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've heard you say, what exactly are you asking
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  Speaker 2: them to do today?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the Commerce Commission highlighted a few major areas that
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  Speaker 3: they expect the industry to move in. One getting on
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  Speaker 3: with open banking so that there can be a greater
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  Speaker 3: range of financial services offered. Two making sure it's easier
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  Speaker 3: for people to switch banks by improving that service that
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  Speaker 3: currently exists but isn't as effective as it could be.
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  Speaker 3: Three by making it easier for customers to compare home
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  Speaker 3: loan offers. So that's just three examples from the Commis
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  Speaker 3: Commission report. Those are all things the industry have expressed
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  Speaker 3: to me they're keen to do. Well, I'm just saying great,
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  Speaker 3: get on with.
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  Speaker 2: It, okay, by when when will this be done?
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  Speaker 3: By? Well, we're watching closely. The Commics Commission is monitoring
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  Speaker 3: the activity and my message today was why not do
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  Speaker 3: it now?
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  Speaker 2: Well, good question. Let's talk about the latest OECD report
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  Speaker 2: because this is this is from last week, but it's
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  Speaker 2: painting a pretty bleak picture about the state of our
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  Speaker 2: economy at the moment, with you know GDP zero point
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  Speaker 2: six percent next year, though still only getting to one
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  Speaker 2: point four, not getting to north of two until twenty
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  Speaker 2: twenty six. Underlying momentum is weak. You know, we're relying
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  Speaker 2: still on importing our migrants who are actually turning their
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  Speaker 2: noses up at us now a little bit in terms
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  Speaker 2: of inflows versus outflows. When when does the National Party say, actually,
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  Speaker 2: this is we're taking accountability for this now, well.
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  Speaker 3: We are taking accountability for fixing the things we said
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  Speaker 3: we would. We said step one, you've got to get
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  Speaker 3: inflation under control. You've got to get interest rates coming down.
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  Speaker 3: You've got to work to get your books back and balance.
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  Speaker 3: We've been delivering progress on those fronts and in fact
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  Speaker 3: the OEZD and their report endorse that and say, look,
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  Speaker 3: you're doing the right thing by being more sensible about
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  Speaker 3: the way that you're spending money. The next thing is
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  Speaker 3: we have to move every lever we can to make
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  Speaker 3: this a more productive economy that can grow faster. You're
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  Speaker 3: seeing us do that and our education reforms focusing on
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  Speaker 3: the basics and making sure that we've got those fast
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  Speaker 3: track projects up and running so that they're not mired
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  Speaker 3: in red tape, complexity and delay. By reducing regulation and
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  Speaker 3: other areas of the economy, from the Building Act to
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  Speaker 3: the Consumer and Credit Finance Act. You're seeing us consolidate
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  Speaker 3: our overseas trade agreements with the new arrangements with the
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  Speaker 3: United Arab Emirates and the GCC. We've got to keep
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  Speaker 3: doing those things, and no one says any one of
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  Speaker 3: those things will deliver a bigger growth number over but
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  Speaker 3: collectively you've got to keep pushing your foot down to
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  Speaker 3: the medal.
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  Speaker 2: And this is a government that is your surplus is
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  Speaker 2: going to have to be delayed again. You've got the
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  Speaker 2: halfairly fiscal update next week and you're widely I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I've spoken to you about this before. You've basically said
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  Speaker 2: without saying it, that you're going to have to push
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  Speaker 2: the surplace out again to those further on the right
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  Speaker 2: than you, and you've just lost four and a half
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  Speaker 2: points to them who say, actually, you should be going
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  Speaker 2: harder with the cuts you should be getting back to surplus.
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  Speaker 2: When you promise to you're just labor light. What do
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  Speaker 2: you say, well, I just reject that.
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  Speaker 3: Now first budget we delivered twenty three billion dollars worth
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  Speaker 3: of savings beyond what labor had even contemplated. I do
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  Speaker 3: have some bottom lines though. For me, I want to
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  Speaker 3: ensure that we continue to deliver good frontline services, and yes,
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  Speaker 3: that means more money for schools, more money for the police,
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  Speaker 3: more money for the health system, and I don't apologize
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  Speaker 3: for that. I also want to ensure we continue to
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  Speaker 3: have a social safety net so that those who do
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  Speaker 3: become unemployed can look to have some support, but also
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  Speaker 3: that we expect them back into work and have services
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  Speaker 3: to prompt that. So it is about striking the right balance. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 3: I think the thing we can all agree on across
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  Speaker 3: the political spectrum is if you want more choices about jobs,
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  Speaker 3: incomes and what you spend money on, you need a
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  Speaker 3: wealthier economy. And that's why we're so focused on rebuilding
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  Speaker 3: the economy so it grows faster and we can have
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  Speaker 3: better choices and future budgets.
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  Speaker 2: Right just before we're hugging the center, well, and truly
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  Speaker 2: there which I can't blame you. That's what you've big
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  Speaker 2: parties have got to do, Minister. Just before you go
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  Speaker 2: the fairies. So is it tomorrow we get the announcement
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  Speaker 2: on Wednesday?
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  Speaker 3: You will get an announcement this week.
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  Speaker 2: Oh we hang on Wednesday. Said it had to be
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  Speaker 2: by wednesday, So it has to be able tomorrow or wednesday,
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  Speaker 2: doesn't it.
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  Speaker 3: He did, and he's a man of his word.
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  Speaker 2: Okay. And will they have trains on them?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, they will be rail compatible. That has always been
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  Speaker 3: a really important driver for the Cabinet that the connection
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  Speaker 3: across the Cook Strait needs to be one that allows
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  Speaker 3: freight to travel from rail from the North to South Island.
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  Speaker 3: There are ryan a number of ways of achieving Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So not necessarily the train's going on the ferry, but
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  Speaker 2: just the freight from the trains going on the ferry
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  Speaker 2: and then back on to rail.
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  Speaker 3: Look, there are going to be a range of questions
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  Speaker 3: that I look forward to answering later this week. It's
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  Speaker 3: going to be a big announcement and I think New
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  Speaker 3: Zealanders will get confidence from that announcement that we've taken
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  Speaker 3: prudent steps to secure safe, reliable, ferry crossings into the future.
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  Speaker 2: Minister, thank you very much for your time. Much appreciated.
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  Speaker 2: Nikola Willis, the Finance Ministers.
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