MEDIA RELEASE
Kiwibank Non-Sale a Missed Opportunity
6 APRIL 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Taxpayers’ Union says that the partial sale of Kiwibank to the NZ Super Fund and ACC is a missed opportunity for the Government to get
the potential liability of a Kiwibank failure off its books. Jordan Williams, the Union’s Executive Director, says:
“From the point of view of taxpayers, nothing is more worrying than a Government owned bank. Even worse, politicians are
already piling on pressure for the bank to undercut the other large banks. They are effectively directing Kiwibank to
take on loans the other banks have weighed up as too risky. It is a recipe for disaster should New Zealand’s housing
bubble burst, or there is another GFC."
“Instead of installing commercial discipline by partially floating, or selling Kiwibank to a private purchaser, the
Government is reshuffling the cards. This is a missed opportunity.”
ENDS