Red Alert
Posts Tagged ‘Kiwibank’
Kiwibank CEO resigns
Posted by David Cunliffe on May 26th, 2010Bill English has got more explaining to do now than when John Key rang to tear strips off him after his gaffe on selling KiwiBank last Friday.
English was clearly guilty of saying what he really thought when there were no cameras in the room (sounds like an earlier National Party conference remark.) Unfortunately there were print journos taking notes. Ooops.
This morning Kiwbank’s highly regarded CEO Sam knowles announced his resignation.
We do not know why yet.
It may be coincidence that just days after the MOF says he wants to flog off the Bank, which has grown amazingly well within NZ Post Group and is now a significant competitive force in the market, its excellent CEO resigns.
It may be coincidence that John Key was apparently furious with English after Friday’s loose lips blew a hole in the Govt’s post budget spin, and spent much of the last two days in damage control. The issue has reportedly widened the gap between the Beehive’s 9th (PM) and 7th (MOF) floors.
This is a gathering storm.
The economics of retaining KiwiBank in public hands are overwhelming.
The issue demonstrates with crystal clarity that the Govt has not got a strategic clue about our long term financial future. We MUST have a stake in our financial system. It is only some 7% of the market but it is crucial to assist the competitive dynamics and local capital formation.
Just how much pressure was put on Key, by whom? On English in the last week? On Knowles? Over what period?
One thing is clear – the Govt has enraged 700,000 plus loyal cutomers of KiwiBank who CHOSE to belong. My email is running white hot.
The Govt now has serious governance questions to deal with amidst the resignation of a stellar CEO.
Watch this space.
English – Assets for sale next term – Kiwibank first on block
Posted by Stuart Nash on May 22nd, 2010Well, at least its out there now – http://tinyurl.com/2c3b273 - Bill English has signalled that assets will be sold if the Nats win another term. First on the block – Kiwibank.
At Labour’s banking inquiry earlier this year, an analyst said that the introduction of Kiwibank had saved New Zealanders about a $1,000,000,000 in interest payments due to competitive pressure it had bought to the market.
Selling Kiwibank (and other assets) would be a disaster for the country – and is certainly something Labour would never ever contemplate.
The true Nat agenda (as if we didn’t know) is at least not so secret anymore…
The ‘For Sale’ signs are up again
Posted by Chris Hipkins on July 26th, 2009It seems more than a little coincidental that the National/ACT/Maori Party government have started talking about privatisation in the same week that they announced changes to the Overseas Investment Act to make it easier for foreign investors to buy strategically important NZ assets. The government seems to be following the Roger Douglas mantra of “never waste a good crisis”.
National went to great lengths prior to the election last year to convince New Zealanders that if they elected a John Key government nothing much would change, except of course they would get big fat tax cuts, a promise they clearly had no intention of keeping. It was already becoming clear at the time that the economic going was getting worse, but Bill English continued to insist that large tax cuts could be afforded without any cuts in government spending. He even kept saying things like “New Zealand doesn’t have a debt problem, we have a growth problem”. How quickly he changed his tune once comfortably ensconced on the Treasury benches.
In the past few weeks the government have sent out stalking horses such as the PM’s close confidant Mark Weldon and Treasury Secretary John Whitehead to start re-invigorating the privatisation agenda. It’s now highly likely key strategic assets like Auckland International Airport will end up in the hands of foreign investors, but the even bigger risk ahead is that we could see our electricity infrastructure follow it.
If the government is looking for privatisation targets, the four biggest State Owned Enterprises will be at the top of the list. They are the 3 big electricity generators and NZ Post/Kiwibank. Over the next year to 18 months, we can expect the government to do all it can to undermine public confidence in those companies in an attempt to strengthen their case for hocking them off. The real question is will they have the guts to go to the people at the next election with a transparent privatisation agenda, or will they break their promise before then and start hocking off the family silverware to overseas investors before ordinary Kiwis have a chance to have their say?
