The government is going to crack down on the Big Banks. I bet they are scared. The Finance Minister has a cunning plan. The best part is that it costs her no money. Instead she wants to use your money. The Beehive says, “The Commerce Commission has proven what’s been long-suspected: NZs banking sector is uncompetitive & Kiwis are not well served by a highly profitable, two-tier oligopoly". “I have asked Treasury to engage with Kiwibank’s parent company Kiwi Group Capital on options for raising new capital, including from Kiwi Saver Funds .. I will take proposals to Cabinet no later than December this year". So who controls the biggest Kiwi Saver Funds? Who directs where Kiwis invest their money? Here are (by far) the ten biggest in the country, managing a large chunk of those funds:
ANZ KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
ANZ KIWISAVER BALANCED GROWTH FUND
ANZ KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
ASB KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
ASB BALANCED FUND
ASB KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
WESTPAC KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
WESTPAC KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
WESTPAC KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
FISHER FUNDS KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
Oh gosh, 9 out of 10 are controlled by the Big Banks: ANZ, Westpac and ASB. Only one in is not - Fisher Funds. Good luck to the Finance Minister convincing Kiwi Saver Funds to start investing way more in smaller banks like Kiwibank to make banking more competitive - so those Big Banks can have their profits slashed. I mean, you couldn't make it up.