Richard Prebble Reveals Fresh Information From Secret NZ Post Bank Business Plan
ACT Leader Richard Prebble has carried out his promise to continue to reveal information from the confidential New
Zealand Post business plan for the ‘People’s Bank’.
Mr Prebble today released a page from the business plan which sets out New Zealand Post’s view of who its competitors
are.
“The significance of this document is that it shows that New Zealand Post believes the ‘People’s Bank’ will be competing
directly with small, New Zealand-owned institutions that concentrate on delivering services to poorer New Zealanders.
“The Greens Leader, Mr Rod Donald, will be highly embarrassed by this information because, in supporting the use of $80
million of taxpayers’ money to establish the ‘People’s Bank’, he claimed New Zealand Post had ‘assured us they would
take seriously our concerns about the Kiwi Bank’s impact on credit unions and existing New Zealand institutions.’
“Clearly, Mr Donald did not ask to look at the business plan, which would show him, under the heading of ‘Competitors’,
that New Zealand Post’s own view is that:
“’Newbank’ will also need to position itself ahead of a plethora of emerging competitors such as TSB, PSIS, SPS and AA
Financial Services nationally. A number of Credit Unions also compete in the savings and term deposit market across the
country.”
“It is clear when reading the business plan that New Zealand Post intends to crush the plethora of small competitors
with the $80 million that the Greens supported.
“If the Green Party wants credibility, it needs to review its support for a bank that is clearly going to be unfair
competition for our credit unions, trustee savings banks and the PSIS,” Richard Prebble said.
ENDS