Banks class action: the lawyers blinked first

Banks class action: the lawyers blinked first
Four years of unpaid legal fees up in smoke if a retrospective law change goes through. (Image: NZME)
Pattrick Smellie
Welcome to the biggest game of chicken in town.A small army of lobbyists has been working for months on behalf of both the banking sector and class action litigation funders representing tens of thousands of ANZ and ASB bank customers.The bank lobbyists have been trying to preserve a long-sought win that retrospectively amends the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) to kill off a class action against the two banks for minor loan and documentation errors made in the mid-2010s.The litigation funders, who have been working for t...

More Policy

Government announces $70m for contestable AI research funding
Policy

Government announces $70m for contestable AI research funding

The reallocated funds will go through the NZ Institute for Advanced Technology

Seeking a faster, sharper ComCom
Economy

Seeking a faster, sharper ComCom

A ‘gold standard’ approach and siloed structure slow the ComCom down.

Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’
Finance

Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’

Plenary and Infrastructure NZ wrote to ministers over PPP ‘disappointment’.

Oliver Lewis 17 Sep 2025
Auckland housing project withdrawn from fast-track
Policy

Auckland housing project withdrawn from fast-track

The developer plans to lodge a fresh application after draft decline.

Oliver Lewis 16 Sep 2025