Search results:

Chief Squirrel David Cunningham recently popped along to chat with Interest.co.nz's Gareth Vaughan on the Of Interest podcast. They talked all about interest rates, bank margins and the Commerce Commission's probe into competition in banking. Give the episode a listen here.

New Zealand is deep in a cost-of-living crisis, and those with mortgages are struggling. And yet amidst all of this, New Zealand banks are thriving – bringing in record profits. So, what’s the driver behind what the banks are doing with home loan rates?

When you hold money with a bank – be it in a transaction or savings account, or a term investment – it doesn’t just sit there. So, why won’t banks let you choose where your money goes, and are there other options to investing?

Bank margins in New Zealand are at record levels right now – higher than they’ve been in about 10 years. So why are headlines painting the image that bank margins are worryingly low?

As New Zealand holds its collective breath, waiting for interest rates to start falling again, here are the key OCR announcement dates you need in your diary for 2023 and 2024.

New Zealand banks have increased their fixed mortgage rates by about 0.25% over the last few weeks - despite the latest signal from the RBNZ being that hikes are (likely) done and dusted. So, what's that all about?

Back on 24th May, Adrian Orr said OCR hikes had done their job, and we'd hit the peak. So why then, six weeks later, are wholesale markets predicting we'll need another OCR hike, maybe two, in order to get inflation truly under control? Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, shares his thoughts on this, and explains why he's pretty sure the wholesale markets have got it wrong.

Earlier this week, one of NZ's big banks hiked its fixed term interest rates to levels that (many believe) are totally unjustified by current market conditions - and copped plenty of criticism for what was deemed nothing more than a "profit grab". Despite that negative reaction, a number of our other major banks have now followed suit. So, is that all the proof we need of the banking oligopoly in New Zealand? Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, certainly thinks so.

The Reserve Bank said it'd take get us here, and with the latest GDP figures released this week, New Zealand is officially in recession. In his latest market update, JB shares his thoughts on what's to come in the economy, and with interest rates and the wider housing market.

Squirrel is offering a free* refinancing service for HSBC customers impacted by the bank's plan to exit the New Zealand retail banking market.

The Kiwi banking sector has come under some pretty heavy scrutiny in recent months, as uniformity and a lack of competition between key players has allowed bank profits to soar (and keep on soaring) at the expense of their customers. So, what's the answer? Well, Squirrel's Dave Tyrer reckons it's not another bank.

New Zealand’s retail banks made $9.96 billion (yep, that’s with a ‘b’) of pre-tax profit in 2022. And while the banks are laughing all the way to the – well – bank, what most Kiwi don’t fully understand is how they’re making that money. (Spoiler alert: it's Kiwi that are losing out.)