Banks should front up

“The big Australian banks would have helped themselves more if they had openly fronted up to questions at the multi-party inquiry on banking,” Progressive Wigram MP Jim Anderton says.

This week ANZ National Bank released its financial results for the last nine months, and prepared a paper on the impact of the credit crunch on New Zealand Banks.

“I am interested in their views. The rest of the world is having an open debate about the banking sector right now. The owners of banks here front up in their home countries. They should front up here, too.

“New Zealanders who are struggling with high interest rates for their mortgages, their businesses and their farms would have been very interested in what banks had to say.

“Ralph Norris, chief executive of the ASB Bank in Australia, welcomed the inquiry as an opportunity to clear up some ‘myths’ the very same week the ASB said it didn’t want to contribute to better understanding of the issues.

Today the Banking inquiry completed its public hearings. A final report will be released shortly.

Submissions were heard from business organisions, members of the public, and community groups from across New Zealand, including Kiwi Bank; New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association; FINSEC; Federated Farmers; CTU and many others.

“I would like to see a cross-party agreement on how we improve the performance of the whole financial sector in New Zealand, for the sake of those who pay too much in interest charges and bank fees, and for the sake of our businesses, and for the future of our economy and living standards in New Zealand ” Jim Anderton said.

PHOTOS at http://www.progressive.org.nz/Inquiry/inquiry.html

ENDS

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