Are the big four's NZ subsidiaries our captives?

Our big four are too big to fail but are they unsaleable? (Image: Getty)

Mon, 28 Jun 2021

We've all heard the maxim: too big to fail. But is it the case that the New Zealand subsidiaries of the big four Australian banks are unsaleable, at least partly because of their size?It will have surprised nobody that Westpac decided against spinning out its 160-year-old NZ operations three months after it leaked that it was considering just that."That raises the very interesting question of whether the NZ subsidiaries of the Australian banks are effectively captives," said banking professor at Massey University David Tripe.Westp...

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