2019 John Waller Memorial Scholarship winners announced

Bank of New Zealand and PwC are pleased to announce the three winners of the John Waller Memorial Scholarships for the University of Canterbury 2019 academic year. They are:

  • Miriam Clark, 18, from Hawarden, North Canterbury
  • Emma Stoddart, 18, from Christchurch
  • Alice Kenmare, 17, from Richmond, Nelson

There were more than 270 applications for the scholarships and these successful young people stood out from their peers for their combination of outstanding academic results, leadership potential, and involvement in the life of their school and community.

The scholarship programme was established in 2017 to honour the values and professional contribution of former BNZ Board Chairman and respected PwC Managing Partner John Waller, ONZM, FCA.

For five years, BNZ and PwC are funding three competitive scholarships per year to school leavers choosing to study Commerce, Science, or Law at the University of Canterbury.

The John Waller Memorial Scholarships provide $18,000 to each student, as well as summer internships at BNZ and PwC, and mentoring from BNZ and PwC staff.

In line with John Waller’s values, the programme provides the opportunity for students to study at UC when personal or financial circumstances restrict their ability to enter tertiary education.

Miriam Clark:

Miriam plans to study Commerce, particularly business management, sustainability and entrepreneurship. She was head girl of Hurunui College, in Hawarden in North Canterbury, in 2017. During a gap year in 2018, Miriam represented Canterbury as one of 18 young leaders to join a Young Blake Expedition in the Kermadec Islands conducting climate and marine research. She is an active conservationist involved in the Nina Valley Restoration Group, a community group aiming to return the valley to pre-European status, and she founded Projekt Pukeko, a restoration project in a local swamp. Being introduced at a young age, Miriam enjoys mountain running, climbing, and exploring the outdoors.

Emma Stoddart:

Emma plans to study Law and Psychology. She attended Cashmere High School where she was the Social Science Prefect, served on the school’s Humanities Council and was a senior member of the Kapa Haka group. In 2018 she actively volunteered in the school’s conductive education unit for students with physical and multiple disabilities and was also a member of her house leadership team. Emma is currently a member of the Christchurch City Youth Council.

Alice Kenmare:

Alice plans to study Law. In 2018 she was involved with the Tasman Youth Council and played rugby and rugby sevens for her school, Waimea College. Alice was a house captain which involved planning and running school-wide events. She also played netball, volleyball and touch rugby. Alice volunteers at Nelson Tasman Hospice and the Richmond Hospice Shop.

BNZ’s history making mortgage rate delivers confidence for home lenders

Bank of New Zealand is offering customers a two-year home loan rate not seen in at least a quarter of a century.

BNZ’s new 3.99% rate will be on offer from Tuesday 13 November and is available on the bank’s Two Year Classic rate.

“The new two-year fixed rate highlights BNZ’s commitment to help more New Zealanders realise their home ownership ambitions,” says BNZ General Manager, Retail Network Logan Munro.

In terms of the historic nature of the new rate, BNZ’s Chief Economist, Tony Alexander says “Sustained low inflation, the effectiveness of the Reserve Bank’s LVR rules and the recent cooling in the New Zealand housing market in spite of still strong economic growth have combined to provide a unique set of interest rate conditions that lenders can take advantage of.”

“The new low rate, fixed for two years, is a real bonus for both current and aspiring home owners who can have the confidence of locking in an interest rate not seen in BNZ’s proud history,” says Mr Munro.

“The security and comfort the two-year fixed rate will provide borrowers is especially important for new home owners who’ll be able to plan their budgets knowing their mortgage rate won’t change for at least 24 months.

“The new rate comes at a good time for home owners and new buyers as the spring home buying season is getting into full swing,” says Mr Munro.

The new rate is available to residential owner occupiers with at least 20% equity, and is available until the end of November. “Anyone considering buying their first home or changing their home lending arrangements should get in touch, so we can discuss the best options for them,” says Mr Munro.

BNZ’s home lending team is available on 0800ASKBNZ, online at bnz.co.nz, through a BNZ branch or customers can contact a BNZ mobile mortgage manager.

OneRoof.co.nz partners with BNZ to help Kiwis make better property decisions

New Zealand’s fastest growing real estate listings site, OneRoof.co.nz, today announced a strategic partnership with Bank of New Zealand (BNZ).

This marks the beginning of a long-term relationship that will enable both organisations to achieve a joint vision of helping more New Zealanders into their own homes. Combining the power of OneRoof’s reach and depth of information and BNZ’s financial expertise means more people will have access to the right information and tools when buying, selling or renting a home.

NZME’s Chief Digital Officer Laura Maxwell says, “We’re excited to be partnering with BNZ and believe that this partnership will enable OneRoof.co.nz to arm Kiwis with the information they need to make better decisions in the housing market. Unique to OneRoof is the ability to start your property search by ‘affordability’ – vital for everyone looking to buy, sell or invest in New Zealand property.”

OneRoof.co.nz’s material advantage over other listing sites is its deep understanding of Kiwis’ property needs and their need for convenience and simplicity. The intuitive digital tools and in-depth insights provided on the site make searching for property an easy customer experience. Everything they need to make a decision is under one roof. 

“The financial information on OneRoof.co.nz will guide Kiwis to find homes that are within their budget, and connect sellers with the best possible pool of buyers. It’s great to be able to partner with BNZ, a company that has such a depth of expertise in home ownership and can help customers understand how much they can borrow and what their options are.”

BNZ Chief Marketing Officer Jason Chan says, “At Bank of New Zealand we’re all about helping our customers be good with money so they can do great things with it, and we know that owning a slice of New Zealand is one of those great things that has always been high on the list of life goals for Kiwis. OneRoof is built to help people find the right property for them so we’re really excited that our new partnership means we’ll be able to help more New Zealanders by being on hand for guidance and information when it’s most needed, so they achieve their property dreams.”

Launched in March, OneRoof.co.nz is an innovative property portal housing all the data, insights and search tools in one place that buyers and investors need to make informed property decisions. OneRoof has the latest listings from New Zealand’s biggest real estate agencies.

Maxwell says the partnership shows OneRoof.co.nz’s growing prominence in the market. “OneRoof has seen rapid growth since its launch earlier this year and it’s great to see how much Kiwis have come to value the depth and quality of the information, the ease with which they can access data and the thousands of property listings on the site.”

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 “Ups and downs in the market”

BNZ backs a growing New Zealand – FY18 Results

Bank of New Zealand’s (BNZ) strong performance during the 2018 financial year ended 30 September 2018 (FY18) provides confidence that continuing to invest in growing New Zealand businesses and supporting Kiwis on to the property ladder is the right thing to do, according to CEO Angie Mentis.

BNZ has announced a statutory net profit1 for its banking group2 of $1,029 million for FY18, an increase of 9.8%. Total operating revenue3 for the BNZ Banking Group increased 6.2% to $2,505 million due to strong growth in lending to businesses and home owners, combined with growth in customer deposits.

“BNZ has been supporting the ambitions of our business customers to invest in their enterprises with $8.3 billion in new lending in FY18. In the past year we also helped more than 14,000 New Zealanders realise their home ownership goals. Supporting our customers and their communities is at the very centre of who we are at BNZ,” says Ms Mentis.

Announcing BNZ’s financial results today, Ms Mentis revealed the bank’s key strategic themes for 2019 and beyond:

  • BNZ will support the provinces with $10 billion available for lending to businesses outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over the next five years
  • BNZ is investing $250 million in new initiatives over the next three years to accelerate its drive to deliver a world-class, fast and simple, banking experience for its customers
  • BNZ will continue to deliver great customer outcomes with an aim to halve its products and simplify its fees across its banking services over three years
  • BNZ is committed to listening to its customers, working with our regulators, and fixing issues quickly to maintain the trust of New Zealanders 

SUPPORTING OUR PROVINCES

“It’s important we support New Zealand businesses wherever they are based,” says Ms Mentis. “With $10 billion available for lending over the next five years, we’ll back business owners outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to help create meaningful jobs and opportunities in their towns and communities.”

BNZ is also trialling a range of initiatives aimed at finding new ways to deliver personalised banking to more customers across New Zealand, especially in the provinces.

This will be in addition to the 153 BNZ branches and teams of BNZ people already supporting their communities. “While we trial these initiatives over the next year, there’ll be no changes to our branch network,” says Ms Mentis.

BNZ is about to commission its first BNZ mobile branch, expected to be on the road early in 2019. “The mobile branch is designed to provide our customers with the best of BNZ banking services at their local centre on a regular basis. Supporting our first-class bankers will be the latest technology to deliver the right services and advice to all of our customers,” says Ms Mentis.

BNZ Mobile Branch low

FOCUS ON FASTER, SIMPLER BANKING

“That focus on delivering better customer experiences through smart technology to make banking faster and simpler helps set BNZ apart,” says Ms Mentis. “This year BNZ won a number of awards including the Canstar Bank of the Year – Online Banking award and we are constantly seeking new ways to make banking faster and simpler for customers.”

“Over the coming months our customers will be able to use a range of new products and services, like our new selfie sign-up feature, helping make their experience with us seamless. We’ve committed $250 million over the next three years to continue this work, recognising that the need to innovate is an essential ingredient to improving customer service,” says Ms Mentis.

LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS AND WORKING WITH REGULATORS

 “As we simplify our products and fees we’re passing savings on to our customers,” says Ms Mentis. “This year BNZ has removed or reduced a series of fees and we will continue to do so. This month for example we’re removing the replacement fee for the thousands of customers who lose or have their BNZ card stolen each year.”

BNZ has been working closely with the Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank of New Zealand to support their review of conduct and culture in the New Zealand banking industry.

“Our customers’ trust in BNZ is well-founded and we will continue to take proactive steps to ensure that remains the case,” says Ms Mentis.

“BNZ’s already making positive changes as we identify opportunities to improve the way we work and quickly fix issues where they are identified. We have already removed sales targets for staff in key customer roles in branches and call centres, so our people can focus on delivering better results for customers.”

“The continued success of BNZ is interwoven with our purpose of enabling a high achieving New Zealand and that means a dedication to consistently deliver the best possible outcomes for all of our customers,” says Ms Mentis.


KEY FINANCIAL RESULTS

(compared to the financial year ended 30 September 2017, unless otherwise stated)

 BNZ Banking Group2

  • Statutory net profit1 of $1,029 million, an increase of 9.8%, which includes mark to market movements on offshore debt instruments and increased cash earnings
  • Operating revenue3 increased by 6.2% to $2,505 million (excludes mark to market movements)

 NAB NZ Banking Reporting Segment5

  • Cash earnings4 of $1,004 million, an increase of 6.7%
    • Total revenue increased 7.0% to $2,414 million, driven by strong volume growth in housing, business lending and deposits, and supported by improved net interest margin
    • Net interest margin increased 9 basis points to 2.27% due to improved margins and lower funding cost
    • Housing lending increased by 6.4% to $39.8 billion
    • Business lending increased by 2.7% to $41.5 billion
    • Customer deposits increased by 6.2% to $58.5 billion
      • Operating expenses increased by 7.3% to $946 million, driven by investment in digital and technology
      • Credit impairment charge increased by 7.0% to $76 million

 Statutory net profit has been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in New Zealand (“NZ GAAP”). It complies with New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (“NZ IFRS”) and other applicable Financial Reporting Standards.

  1. BNZ Banking Group excludes the Insurance operation in New Zealand and includes BNZ’s Group Capital Management, BNZ Markets Trading operations and other central units.
  2. Operating revenue on a BNZ Banking Group cash earnings basis.
  3. Cash earnings is a non-IFRS key financial performance measure used by BNZ for its internal management reporting as it better reflects what BNZ considers to be underlying performance. Cash earnings is calculated by excluding fair value movements and hedging gains/(losses) as they introduce volatility and/or distortion within the statutory net profit which is income neutral over the full term of transactions. A reconciliation of cash earnings to net profit is included on the final page. Cash earnings is not a statutory financial measure, is not presented in accordance with NZ GAAP and is not audited or reviewed in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand).
  4. NAB NZ Banking Reporting segment comprises the Consumer, Wealth, Business, Agribusiness, Corporate, Insurance and Market Sales operations in New Zealand, operating under the ‘BNZ brand’. It excludes BNZ’s Group Capital Management, BNZ Markets Trading operations and central units reported at a Group (NAB) level.