Westpac tantrum or no, it faces an NZ conundrum

Westpac tantrum or no, it faces an NZ conundrum
Does Westpac really want to sell its NZ business? And who might buy it?
Jenny Ruth
Westpac may be deadly serious about quitting New Zealand after 160 years, but it is at least possible that it's just throwing a tantrum because the pesky NZ banking regulator has been making life difficult for it for quite a few years.Adrian Orr, the governor of the NZ regulator, the Reserve Bank, certainly has history with the Australian banks having previously been chief economist at two of them, Westpac and National Bank, which is now part of ANZ Bank.And Orr was RBNZ's chief economist when RBNZ forced Westpac, which was kicking and...

More Finance

Budget 2024: tax relief on, surplus further off
Finance

Budget 2024: tax relief on, surplus further off

The package will be less generous than National’s election campaign promises.

Pattrick Smellie 27 Mar 2024
New Guardians of NZ Super CEO appointed
Finance

New Guardians of NZ Super CEO appointed

Townsend will be its first external CEO appointment since Adrian Orr in 2007.

Staff reporters 27 Mar 2024
Russia’s backdoor to the global banking system slamming shut
Finance

Russia’s backdoor to the global banking system slamming shut

Major Dubai lender has scaled back Moscow business, and Turks are now more cautious.