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Video: Are our banks safe?

Posted in News September 19, 2008 - 04:34pm, Bernard Hickey

Are our banks safe given US problems with investment bank worries ? Reserve Bank New Zealand opinion.
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9 Comments

by Raf | 21 Sep 08, 3:29pm

Well we have no deposit

Well we have no deposit insurance and banks who lend only on property.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a mass evacuation to Kiwibank which at least has a pseudo guarantee.

by Walter Kunz | 21 Sep 08, 6:53pm

Not quite convinced. To me

Not quite convinced. To me that sounds like an expert telling me my house is safe with an earthquake magnitude 6.4. But what happen with a possible earthquake of 7.5.
In the current situation who knows ??

by Andrewj | 21 Sep 08, 7:54pm

Im 100% convinced the govt

Im 100% convinced the govt would step in to safe guard NZ depositors. If these banks start falling then getting our money out would probably be the last of our worries our $ would be toast.We dont have the type of debt they have in the USA and we dont have banks playing with CDO and CDS's. We no doubt are in for a period of austerity, but hey we probably deserve it.

by Walter Kunz | 21 Sep 08, 10:52pm

@ Andrewj It is fine

@ Andrewj
It is fine to say the Govt steps in, but where is the money coming from with a rising deficit, huge additional environmental/ health costs and a rather deteriorating economy?

by expat | 22 Sep 08, 5:13am

Mmm, not convinced. ANZ and

Mmm, not convinced.

ANZ and I imagine others have been shafted in the structured loan/CDO/property dev lending market place and an implicit guarantee by the au govt isnt worth the paper its written on.

What we are seeing is a concerted effort by the trading banks to placate mum and dad that their savings are safe - what if 25% of cash holding investors pulled their money and went too kiwibank, hsbc and the dutchies? Big trouble for capital adequacy of th nz banks and you can be sure the au parents dont have the liquid assets to prop things up.

by Raf | 22 Sep 08, 10:42am

Walter, Lack of cash hasn't

Walter,

Lack of cash hasn't stopped the US authorities in nationalising the US banking system.

by Walter Kunz | 22 Sep 08, 11:26am

Raf, Groriezka moskaiko stalinisky. leninoviko

Raf,
Groriezka moskaiko stalinisky. leninoviko ! Not only the world- power is shifting to the East.
Listen on youtube Ron Paul Senator of Texas - very interesting.

by Steve Boyd | 23 Sep 08, 11:58pm

Out of interest, how safe

Out of interest, how safe would you say Raboplus is? It's parent is the somewhat massive Rabobank for Holland and is AAA rated, though given the size of the financial meltdown I find in quite natural to worry :-)

Would raboplus be safer then an aussie bank right now?

by don | 10 Oct 08, 1:20pm

HOW SAFE IS KIWI BANK,

HOW SAFE IS KIWI BANK,
RABO NZ.
AND KIWI BONDS ( NZ GOVT)?