New Zealand to Act on 14 Banking Competition Recommendations, Targeting Australian Banks' Oligopoly

New Zealand's Finance Minister has announced that the government will act on all 14 recommendations from the Commerce Commission's final report on bank competition. The government aims to inject genuine competition into the market and will respond with urgency to the report's recommendations. Finance Minister Willis has indicated that a new financial policy remit will be issued to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to support a more competitive banking sector. Additionally, the government has asked the Treasury to engage with Kiwi Group Capital, Kiwibank's parent company, on options for raising new capital. The New Zealand government has also accused the big four Australian banks of behaving in an uncompetitive manner and pledged to disrupt the perceived "oligopoly."