Westpac has been left embarrassed after first lodging, and then pulling, a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a BNZ advert that said BNZ had lent more money to New Zealand businesses than all its rivals combined.
The revelation of Westpac’s withdrawn complaint comes in a decision from the ASA, where it notes it actually didn’t need to make a decision because the complaint had been withdrawn.
The BNZ TV ad featured an image of a construction site above the following text: “Last year we lent more to New Zealand businesses than all other banks combined.”
It continued that BNZ had provided more than half of all banks’ net new lending to New Zealand businesses.
Westpac complained that the claims made in BNZ’s ad were unsubstantiated. It pointed to basic principle three of the Code for Financial Advertising.
This sets out that financial advertisements should strictly observe the basic tenets of truth and clarity. They should not by implication, omission, ambiguity, small print, exaggerated claim or hyperbole mislead, deceive or confuse, or be likely to mislead, deceive or confuse consumers, abuse their trust, exploit their lack of knowledge or, without justifiable reason, play on fear.
A Westpac spokesman declined to comment on why the bank’s complaint was withdrawn.
BNZ says the statements it made in the ad were based on both internal and Reserve Bank figures for the year to September 2009. They cover share of registered bank growth for New Zealand dollar non-personal lending excluding Treasury claims.
BNZ’s lending totaled NZ$2.186 billion and system-wide, or industry, non-personal lending was NZ$3.761 billion, meaning BNZ’s share of system growth was 58%.
BNZ notes the figures were for net, not total, new lending, meaning they cover the combined balance of all new loans and advances minus any amounts repaid.
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