Interest rate swaps case – further information being assessed
Issued: 2 April 2014
Release No. 90
The Commerce Commission has announced that it is currently assessing new information received concerning the banks
involved in the interest rate swaps investigation.
Last December the Commission reported that it anticipated filing proceedings against ANZ, ASB and Westpac by the end of
March. However, the Commission has been able to actively advance its investigation since then, including through using
its new compulsory interview powers, which came into law just before Christmas. The Commission has used these powers to
interview current and former bank staff.
This is a particularly complex case where different facts and circumstances apply to each of the three banks involved.
This complexity along with the new information that has been obtained meant that the original March time-frame was no
longer realistic.
The Commission now anticipates making a further announcement mid-year, once it has furthered discussions with each bank
about the information it holds and any possible resolution of the Commission’s concerns. The Commission has entered into
a ‘standstill agreement’ with each bank that means there will be no barrier to any proceedings brought by the Commission
as a result of taking this extra time.
As this remains an active investigation with prospective court proceedings, the Commission will not be commenting
further at this time.
Background
On 17 December 2013, the Commerce Commission announced that it has advised three major New Zealand banks (ANZ, ASB and
Westpac), that it intended to issue legal proceedings in March 2014 over their sales of interest rate swap contracts to
rural customers.
Interest rate swaps are a financial derivative product that allows a borrower to manage the interest rate exposure on
their borrowing. They were typically provided to large corporate and institutional customers, but from 2005 were offered
by various banks to rural customers throughout New Zealand.
In August 2012 the Commission began enquiring into whether interest rate swaps were misleadingly marketed from 2005.
More information about the interest rate swaps case can be found at -http://www.comcom.govt.nz/fair-trading/interest-rate-swaps-2/