[UktoKiwi]

I have found out that your funds in NZ have no protection if the bank should go belly up or fail to be able to meet its obligations.
I have seen that TSB NZ bank has BBB- credit rating from Standard & Poors which is not too good.
Does anyone know where one can see the credit rating for the banks in NZ? or anybody have the info?
Has any bank in NZ gone bust over the last 25 years or so?

[Beach Kiwi]

Bank credit ratings can be found on this page (http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/nzbanks/0091622.html) of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's website.

No New Zealand banks have gone bust that I'm aware of, and I've been here for over 40 years. The BNZ got into a bit of 'strife' in 1989, but was bailed out of it by the Government. Most of the banks operating in New Zealand are now owned by Australian banks, with TSB being the only one, apart from KiwiBank, that is New Zealand owned.

I don't think you've got anything to worry about. :nice1

[UktoKiwi]

Thanks very much.
The exact sort of link I was looking for.
Appreciate.

[Iain & Liz]

i think they are just as safe as the uk ones

[T-and-L-PDX]

I zeroed in on exactly this point when I opened an account with Westpac. What I learned is that while the bank is Australian, it must comply with NZ disclosure laws which, depending on your level of cynicism about US and UK regulators, is either on par or better than what you get in these countries.

I do not know what will happen if Australia and New Zealand move closer to forming a common economic bloc but I seem to recall banks in OZ want to move away from NZ-style regulations, which if you consider free market logic of always seeking less regulation, probably means less protection for customers. NZ Herald and Stuff.co.nz cover these issues regularly and they are worth following.