Ups and downs in the market

By BNZ General Manager Wealth, Peter Forster

Many KiwiSaver investors may have seen their balances take a dip recently on the back of some sharp ups and downs (with more downs than ups) across global markets. But really, this type of market movement is what we expect to see. KiwiSaver is a long-term savings option which means weathering difficult periods is part of the design rather than a flaw. What’s important is for members to keep their goals and objectives in mind and to choose an appropriate fund to suit. Continue reading…

Preparing your farming business for the future

By BNZ Head of Agribusiness, Colin Mansbridge

The debate around Mycoplasma Bovis currently focusses on the efficacy of the eradication programme and whether the costs of the program will outweigh the benefits. Not long ago the dialogue was about the emotional stress of farmers watching their whole herds being slaughtered, some with generations of genetic improvement invested in them. Continue reading…

Second People’s Choice Award for BNZ KiwiSaver

By BNZ Head of Wealth & Private Bank, Donna Nicolof

KiwiSaver should be a key part of New Zealanders’ retirement planning. Because of how vital it is, we have put a huge emphasis on making sure the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme is as good as it can be. This approach was recently given the tick by our customers with ConsumerNZ awarding us their People’s Choice Award for the second year running. Continue reading…

Edmund Hillary Fellowship: supporting world-changing ventures

by Evan Veza, BNZ’s Head of International Business Development

In a quiet valley in Upper Hutt, a select group of global entrepreneurs and investors have spent the past week together, connecting and sharing their plans to change the world.

Front and centre will be the second cohort to join the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) – a New Zealand-based programme that’s aiming to build a global community of people creating ventures with positive social and environmental impact. Continue reading…

Backing bold women: Scholarships announced

by BNZ CEO, Angie Mentis

International Women’s Day gives us the opportunity to not simply talk about gender equality, but to act on it too.

This year is 125 years since New Zealand women got the right to vote. Given that fact, it is simply not acceptable that experts are estimating that gender parity another 186 years away. That’s six generations.

Today we have the chance to act. Forget the year 2186 for gender equity. Think 2020. That’s our commitment. BNZ will achieve gender equality across all levels of our organisation by 2020. Continue reading…

We have our 2018 Start-up Alley winners

By BNZ Head of Small Business, Harry Ferreira.

Six of the hottest names on the NZ start-up scene pitched their growth plans at BNZ Start-up Alley at the St. James Theatre in Wellington. The competition was tight, but together with fellow judges Derek Sivers, Anna Guenther, and Leah Culver I’m excited to announce that we have selected two winners this year. Continue reading…

Building ‘guanxi’ for your business

Photo: Alpha Group General Manager Maggie Chen and BNZ Commercial Partner Franky Wang exchange mooncakes.

Jamie Rihia, BNZ’s Head of Growth Segments, explains the importance of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese culture and how kiwi businesses can start to build valuable relationships in the Chinese market.

This year, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (or Mooncake Festival) takes place on October 4th, marking the time of year when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. It is the second most important festival to Chinese people after Chinese New Year, and is traditionally a time for honouring deities, ancestors and uniting families. Continue reading…

Celebrating Te Reo Māori

In the light of Māori Language Week, Cath Lomax, BNZ’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion, shares her personal experiences around Te Reo and how the Māori culture is brought to life at BNZ.

With Māori Language Week coming up I thought it would be an interesting exercise to see how many Māori words my kids could come up with. They started off pretty well covering all the basics, and then the competitiveness came out with them counting up to 100.

It seems so natural for our kids to be learning and speaking some Māori at school now, although I wish even more was being done. Continue reading…

Celebrating three years of fair loans for our communities

BNZ’s Head of Community Finance, Frances Ronowicz, reflects on three years of providing affordable loans in a successful partnership with the government and not-for-profit organisations.

Elsie’s got $80 more a week in her family budget after receiving a Community Finance loan for home appliances. Les has independence in his retirement now that he could buy a reliable car with his loan funds. Aayla can get her kids to school and herself to university with the car she bought with her loan.

Our Community Finance initiative is three years old now and these New Zealanders are among hundreds who have benefitted from an affordable low or no interest loan, where the alternative could have led to an unsustainable debt situation. Continue reading…

Turning bad debts into good habits

Director of Retail and Marketing Paul Carter shares how BNZ’s Community Finance programme helps people be good with money so they can do great things with it. Not just through the low-interest loans, but also through the conversations held.

It’s Money Week and the official theme is “What does debt do for you?”.

This got me thinking about what debt has done for me and my family. Continue reading…