Kiwibank is mulling further expansion by growing its financial markets capabilities, with the state owned bank putting out a tender for information on foreign exchange pricing and risk management platforms.
The bank, a subsidiary of New Zealand Post, said its financial markets division was looking to challenge existing practices in the business banking market.
Kiwibank published a request for information on government tender website GETS, saying its financial markets division would be expanding over the next 12-18 months as it grows in support of a wider business markets strategy.
The financial markets expansion continues the 10-year-old Kiwibank's push for growth outside its bread and butter business of writing residential mortgages. In January Kiwibank bought fund manager Gareth Morgan Investments, it has also launched a finance company named Kiwi Asset Finance, and is expanding into life insurance. See more on Kiwibank's growth push here.
Kiwibank currently runs a full service Treasury division managing its funding and liquidity (both onshore and offshore), regulatory and balance sheet requirements, foreign exchange business, credit trading, and interest rate trading, it said in the tender.
Its strategic aim in respect to its business markets segment over the coming three years was to integrate and expand the existing product suite, enhance internal systems, grow market share, especially in the commercial customer segment; reduce reliance on third party vendors, challenge existing market practices, and deliver innovative international payment and hedging solutions, it said.
"With Kiwibank looking to increase and deepen its presence in New Zealand business markets, Kiwibank Financial Markets is rapidly becoming a key cornerstone of this strategy," it said in the tender.
"Whether delivering mono-line products (the OTC FX suite & vanilla Interest rate products) via carved out relationships, or becoming part of a “total banking” offer with Business Markets, Kiwibank Financial Markets is gearing up to become a full service provider of markets product and service in New Zealand," it said.
Kiwibank said it was working on a strict timetable in regard to the request for information (RFI). Responses to the RFI were due by 12:00pm on May 4, and Kiwibank would notify respondents whether it would conduct a request for proposal in June 2012.
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