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The usual suspects, and some others, show interest in Westpac's government banking contract

Business
The usual suspects, and some others, show interest in Westpac's government banking contract
9th Sep 13, 4:38pm by Gareth Vaughan

By Gareth Vaughan

Standard Chartered, Citi Group and HSBC have joined state owned Kiwibank, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac itself in putting up their hands to show interest in Westpac's core government transactional banking contract, which the Government has indicated it plans to tender competitively for the first time since 1989.

Grant Lyons, the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment's (MBIE) manager for collaborative procurement, told interest.co.nz via a spokeswoman last week that 10 responses had been received to a Discussion Document on all-of-government banking services issued by MBIE and Treasury in June.

Pressed for the names of the 10 Lyons, again via a spokeswoman, said they were banks ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Citi Group, HSBC Ltd, Kiwibank and Standard Chartered, plus Visa Australia, and First Union which represents bank workers.

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3 Comments

by  Plan B  |  9th Sep 13, 9:35pm 1378719329

Will having been fined by the US Government for criminal activity disqualify any of the contenders? I just wonder what you would have to do to get crossed off the list?

I wonder how we would feel if HSBC or Standard Chartered won ?

Does the winner gain any insight into the NZ economy that they can use to front run with?

Great article on bankers by bankers

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/01/most-dishonest-ban…

This bit is excellent.

"My advice to people dealing with the financial sector is: never buy anything that's complex. Because the more complexity the more opportunities there are to screw you over. I just can't get my mind around how banks can still call clients in the corporate world and say, look we've got this great idea that's going to make you a lot of money. I mean, what are they thinking? Nobody in the City can be trusted because they don't work for you, they work for themselves.

 

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by  Boatman  |  10th Sep 13, 10:24am 1378765444

Oh for goodness sake PlanB, what planet do you live on?

I worked for Standard Chartered PLC, and its one of the best , well run and best capitlaised Multinational Banks around . Its did not require British taxpayers BAILOUT money  in the GFC 

 HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION  , otherwise known as HSBC , is another well run Multinational  Bank,which has had branches in NZ for many years   .

As for the conspiracy nonsense and the Gaurdian article about what goes  trading floors  we need some perspective

1) The Government is not buying any complex financial products , this is transactional banking services  

2) Standard Chartered was fined by the US for a Bond raising facility for Iran , and STANCHART has had a branch in Tehran for decades , even uder the rule of the pro US Shah of Iran . This litigation was driven by US Banks and lobbyists in Uncle Sams  weird litigious society ,  

3) Its time the NZ  Government got the best deal with banks for its business .

4)WRT the Gaurdian article the young guys  on Bank  trading desks are no different to rugby players. Winning is not the only thing it is EVERYTHING  they are full of bullshit and bravado , aggressive , egotistical , they will cheat if they can get away with it , and will shag anything with tits and a fanny  

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by  Plan B  |  10th Sep 13, 2:04pm 1378778643

Actually they have both been fined by the US Government for illegal activity. HSBC admited that it had been laudering money for Mexican drug cartels. I do not thnk that these things are in dispute.

Why should either of these organisation get our buisness.

 

From Matt Taibbi

Meanwhile, HSBC has been accused of laundering billions of dollars of Mexican drug money, a monstrous mess that recalls the infamous Bank of New York scandal of the late Nineties involving Russian mob money; officials have described the HSBC culture as "pervasively polluted." And the British bank Standard Chartered is now being forced to pay $330 million to settle claims that it laundered hundreds of billions of dollars on behalf of Iran.

 

from the telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/1012920…

Standard Chartered hired Deloitte in 2004 to review anti-money laundering controls at the bank, according to the regulator. But even after Deloitte Financial Advisory Services took that role, the laundering continued.

Standard Chartered was fined $667 million by federal and New York state authorities last year for permitting hundreds of billions of dollars to be laundered through its US branch by clients from Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan, in violation of US sanctions on the countries.

These things are not mistakes they are decisions, the fines are now a cost of doing business

Re complex financial products, take a look at what HSBC has flogged to the Auckland City Council

 

 

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