Anderton lays into greedy banks
April 6th, 2008Jim Anderton, a senior member of cabinet and supporter of Helen Clark, has had a good crack at the NZ banks calling them “authors of their own misfortune”.
With lending up 14.3% in the last year he’s not wrong.
And with Lombard the 17th NZ finance company to hit the wall some serious questions must be asked about the health of the NZ financial system.
Deborah Hill Cone , the Hermione Granger of NZ journalism, has been banging on about this for many years now focusing mainly on the Hanover Group which surprisingly hasn’t gone under….yet.
Back in March 2004 she wrote a big piece on it for the NBR which prompted me to write to various MPs and the Finance Minister to express concern about the finance company sector as a whole. The only MP who took interest in it was John Key, the then shadow finance minister, whilst Michael Cullen, the current one, gave the standard response that the system was well regulated.
We also hear that Tower has closed a mortgage fund after a run on funds on a day that centre left leaders met in London to discuss urgent reform of global financial markets. Helen Clark was there and no doubt expressed her concern.
Perhaps her focus should be a little closer to home?
Tags: banking, confidence, credit crunch, finance companies, financial crisis, money reform, new zealand, reserve bank of new zealand