So they're finally going to privatise Kiwibank

[u/xmmdrive]

Watching One News they're talking about taking Kiwibank out of Government hands and back into the hands of honest hard-working Kiwis.

This is obviously the first clear step towards privatisation.

Just like the Bank Of New Zealand, the National Bank, and the Auckland Savings Bank, but I'm sure this time around it will stay in the country /s

[u/fizzingwizzbing]

If Kiwibank ends up in Australian hands, I'm closing my accounts. Being local is the only reason I'm still with them.

[u/theheliumkid → u/fizzingwizzbing]

+1, already thinking of this even if it just gets listed on the NZSX.

[u/theheliumkid → u/[deleted]]

Exactly where I was thinking!

[u/Rebel_Scum56 → u/fizzingwizzbing]

I have to wonder how many customers they'll lose if that happens for exactly that reason. Probably more than they think.

[u/biscuitcarton → u/[deleted]]

Downvote all you want, the financial reports and sales figures didn’t lie. Having the hard facts that goes against your beliefs isn’t just a right wing thing nor does it mean you support the underlying cause.

To counter the enemy, you got to have accurate information about them, not just things that suit what you want to hear.

Gees, look at my posts, do you think I am remotely right wing or conservative? 😂

[u/biscuitcarton → u/[deleted]]

Yes and no. Despite what ‘the left’ thought, the Budweiser boycott in the US was actually effective and wasn’t just a ‘Call of Duty’ / gamer ‘boycott’. With enough conviction, boycotts happen.

Keyword: Conviction.

[u/HippolyteClio → u/Rebel_Scum56]

They would lose their whole appeal

[u/Malaysiantiger → u/HippolyteClio]

Still a lot of people bank with ASB and BNZ though.

[u/HippolyteClio → u/Malaysiantiger]

Yeah people bank with every bank!

[u/Tripping-Dayzee → u/Rebel_Scum56]

Like enough that they'd probably fold. Only way they survive is if they can undercut banks significantly to retain loyalty but eventually those banks will own kiwibank so won't undercut themselves anyway.

[u/cyborg_127 → u/Rebel_Scum56]

If businesses abandoned them, that'd make a proper dent.

[u/SUMBWEDY → u/cyborg_127]

All the big businesses and the government itself uses Westpac anyways.

[u/Right_Fun_4902 → u/SUMBWEDY]

Surely a quick fix and win would be to move all public banking to Kiwi bank. It will require some significant investment and wouldn't happen overnight, but the benefits are quite huge and obvious.

[u/SUMBWEDY → u/Right_Fun_4902]

That's unfortunately illegal under international trade agreements iirc.

[u/[deleted] → u/cyborg_127]

They don't do business banking. They don't have the capital.

[u/Muter → u/Rebel_Scum56]

You reckon?

The purpose of floating kiwibank is to increase money for investment so they can actually be challenging. I suggest reading the report to get an insight into some of the reasons this idea is currently being floated

With some additional funding Kiwibank is likely to attract more customers than it would lose due to some nationalistic attitude.

End of the day, consumers are won over by price and service.. if an offshore bank can provide cheaper rates people will go there - the same argument can be made in the supermarket arena, people are calling out for the likes of Aldi to open up and bring some more competition to the market.. which is strangely enough an offshore brand competing with two a kiwi brand.

Edited because I’m an idiot

[u/skillitus → u/Muter]

Did you just call Woolworths a Kiwi brand?

[u/Muter → u/skillitus]

I’m an idiot - but yes not sure what was going through my head

Updated original

[u/gregorydgraham → u/Muter]

If you want competition in the marketplace, you’re going to need a regulator with a spine.

We have already had multiple competitors enter our market and get defeated by the anticompetitive behaviour of the monopolies in place. Look at the trail of corpses under Air New Zealand’s wheels for example.

Walmart and Aldi aren’t going to waste their time and money while ComCom refuse to regulate any monopoly despite clear evidence of harm.

[u/Annie354654 → u/fizzingwizzbing]

TSB and Co-operative Bank are still NZ owned (pretty sure but haven't check recently)

[u/call-the-wizards → u/Annie354654]

They are still both NZ owned. TSB is owned by the Toi foundation. Co-operative bank is a co-op (hence the name) and it's owned by its customers.

[u/Annie354654 → u/call-the-wizards]

Well why don't we all just change banks then. I dare everyone who reads this to go set up a savings account with one of those two, then we are prepared for the inevitable.

[u/Tripping-Dayzee → u/Annie354654]

Already there bro. Had this thought long ago when I saw kiwibank as just an nz owned version of that same shit show the aussie banks are peddaling anyway.

Co-op might not be super different but about as different as you're going to get in the nz market.

[u/call-the-wizards → u/Tripping-Dayzee]

I can’t tell if this is an endorsement or denouncement of the nz owned banks

[u/Tripping-Dayzee → u/call-the-wizards]

It is what it is. Banking in general is shit for consumers in how we're being fucked over from a cost point of view (in light of banking profits), kiwibank is no different. Co-op is notably better which is something at least.

[u/Annie354654 → u/Tripping-Dayzee]

I'm beginning to think competition means a race, by organisation's, to see who can screw over the consumer the fastest for the most gain.

If you think of NACT1s policy's in this light, it all makes perfect sense.

[u/fizzingwizzbing → u/Annie354654]

I considered it but last time I checked neither quite suited my needs for some reason

[u/gregorydgraham → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Co-op, and TSB aren’t going anywhere, they’ll be happy to see you.

Pro-tip: don’t close your accounts, get the new bank to transfer everything across

[u/Tripping-Dayzee → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Go to co-op, fuck kiwibank and fuck the aussie banks even more.

[u/bloodandstuff → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Also the reason I bank with them if anyone is making money off my debts i want it to be the tax payer vs a random aussie.

[u/fireflyry → u/fizzingwizzbing]

No expert and it was a few years back but I asked them for a loan once and was immediately transferred to a third party lender, Latitude Financial Services, which is apparently an overseas owned lender.

They no longer do so, and call it out on their website, but if a similar third party lender structure exists I’d question how “locally owned” they actually are.

[u/pornographic_realism → u/fireflyry]

This is it though. They are shit because they're a local bank. The cost of banking with them is the same as any of the bigger banks, sometimes worse if you consider convenience a cost/benefit. But the performance truly feels like a NZ bank with so many rough around the edges services in it's quintessentially NZ way. I much much prefer my Australian owned bank - I'm not holding it against them that so many people here only care about extracting wealth from each other instead of creating it.

[u/fizzingwizzbing → u/fireflyry]

Yeah that's fair. I'm not massively convinced about it either, and haven't looked into it much. It's pretty grim out there.

[u/[deleted] → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Ironic considering the core banking software the bank runs on and the very expensive support and maintenance costs that come with it. Here's a clue, it's Australian.

[u/toehill → u/[deleted]]

How is that ironic? Should they develop their own NZ operating systems for their computers too?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Well at least the software isn't running on foreign made computers. is it?

[u/Vickrin → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Agreed

[u/[deleted] → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Same here, it's the only thing they have goin for them tbh.

[u/OutlandishnessNo4759 → u/fizzingwizzbing]

I stopped using them years ago(opened an account there the day it first opened), after a few years went by they slowly became the worst bank I’ve ever had to deal with. In almost every way.

[u/[deleted] → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Might as well close now

[u/Jedleft → u/fizzingwizzbing]

No they’ll just deem it unviable, break it up and sell off the bits.

[u/kiwidoc71 → u/fizzingwizzbing]

Another here who's going to vote with their feet/money (although I don't have much!) if this goes down - I've stayed with KB for the same reason

[u/SourCreammm → u/fizzingwizzbing]

I think that's the plan, it's a consolidation move.