National Revisits Plan for Private Investors in Kiwibank

The National Party is reviving its plan to allow private investors to take a stake in Kiwibank, New Zealand's state-owned bank. The idea was first proposed last year but scrapped after Reserve Bank changes provided an alternative source of capital.

According to National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis, the party sees this as a 'win-win solution' that would allow local investors to benefit from Kiwibank's growth while providing the bank with additional capital to compete with Australian-owned banks.

The government had previously approved plans for Kiwibank to engage with local investors, including KiwiSaver providers and Māori institutions, which could have raised an additional $500 million in capital. This would have supported up to $4 billion of business lending or $10b of home lending.

However, the Reserve Bank changes provided another source of capital, giving Kiwibank access to $400m. Nicola Willis acknowledged that this had assisted the bank but said more capital was needed for future growth.