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Peters wants inquiry into bank profits

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Peters wants inquiry into bank profits

3News NZ

Wintston Peters says a full-scale, independent inquiry must be held

Wintston Peters says a full-scale, independent inquiry must be held

NZ First leader Winston Peters wants an inquiry into the "obscene" profits foreign-owned banks are making.

All New Zealand's big banks are Australian-owned and Mr Peters says ANZ National is on target to post a record profit of more than $1 billion.

"We are in the middle of a global financial crisis yet a single bank is in the process of manufacturing a record profit from the wallets of hard working New Zealanders," he said today.

"Year on year they are making extraordinary profits - last year the big four Australian banks on average increased profits by 28 percent, it's totally outrageous."

Mr Peters says a full-scale, independent inquiry must be held and its brief should be to find way to ensure a bigger slice of the profits stay in New Zealand.

"With the economic gloom showing little sign of lifting, now is the time for an inquiry into banks' obscene profit margins."

NZN

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22/08/2012 11:34:29 a.m.

robbie wrote:

If Winnie is so smart when it comes to money - how come he doesn't own much of it? Treasurer my Arse!

22/08/2012 9:34:01 a.m.

Steve wrote:

The banks are listed in Australia. The government could invest through ACC or NZ Super or ordinary New Zealanders could purchase directly or via Kiwisaver funds. Maybe if the our short sighted governments had not sold Bank of New Zealand or Post Bank we would have retained profits, head office jobs and control of our economy. Also, remember Trust Bank and ASB - how were the trustees of these organisations ever held to account for the short sighted sell off/behaviour? As for tax paid, was there not a recent avoidance case involving the big 4 banks?

22/08/2012 7:59:30 a.m.

Mike wrote:

Where is this 6.5 billion profits going overseas untaxed? Did you pull that 'untaxed profit' out your behind?

NZ has a company tax rate of 28%, so a profit of 6.5 billion would see 28% tax.

Take a US company that has invested in NZ. Will they take the profit earned in NZ back to the US? Unlikely as they will get taxed 28% on the profit in NZ, and they will tend to re-invest the profit in NZ and not take it off-shore as claimed.

Why? Well The US has a higher corporate tax rate than NZ, so they would basically face additional tax to move it to the US as the US has higher corporate tax rates than most of the world.

Peters keeps playing the violin about Asians, about profits going offshore. Hes only been playing the same song for over 20 years.

To fiddle with our exchange rate with external intervention would have disastrous effects on our economy, but amoung brain-dead the idea of higher value for the same exports sounds good except it forgets all the other effects of the same rate change. Currently our exports about match our imports so the cost to import will adjust to any rate change. NZ at the bottom of the world, ie we import a lot, and have transport costs. Our debt will grow substantially and our interest rates will jump with inflation if we have some intervention as Peters is wanting that will kill many businesses and cost more jobs when we aren't even out the current recession?

If devaluing was so good, why did the Muldoon devaluing not make NZ the richest country in the world? Oh, because it just doesn't work! Devaluing our currency gives a 5 minute reprive at the expense of worse long term.

Our currency is still one of the lowest amoung our trading partners. The US/Aus/Euro/UK/Yen currencies are all stonger then the NZ$.

21/08/2012 8:16:04 p.m.

Takere wrote:

To start, a Financial Transaction Tax. They don't pay GST on any profits. GST,15% should be charged to the $6.5b in profits that go off-shore every year untaxed.

21/08/2012 7:44:03 p.m.

John wrote:

Peters for Prime Minister! Why does Key not give a stuff? Because when the banks profit, HE profits. Selfish <insert expletive>.

21/08/2012 7:43:08 p.m.

Mike wrote:

Well if Peters could rub 2 brain cells together ...

Peters is on about lowering our exchange rate around 20%.

If take the % profit on turnover, the bank operating profit isn't that high. Also need to split the profit some from where it came from.

The banks have a chunk of the profit which is from our strengthing dollar when they expected our currency to dip.

Part of the banks profit was they expected the cost of borrowing to increase through higher interest rates, ie had budgeted on higher costs, and then the interest rates have held lower. The banks have all been saying the interest rates were going up, but they haven't.

Thats 3 factors which Peters hasn't even considered as he never looks at the big picture, only the headline graber.

Peters is wanting a lower exchange rate by 20%. This means that borrowed money will take more foreign currency to repay, ie more cost. Govt bonds offered if the world expects the dollar to crash 20% will see nobody buying for less than like 30% return over the duration, which will feed through to much higher interest rates. Good ting the govt is not listening to opposition idiots.

Basically Peters is clueless!

20% lower NZ$ would raise fuel around 55 cent/ltr currently, and raise buying milk locally from $4 to $5 for 2 ltrs. How would this help NZ? For all the talk, NZ has one of the lowest valued currencies in the OECD, so how are we overvalued? The US/Aus/Euro/Yen/UK to name a few are all much stronger than the NZ$.

Our strengthening dollar has regained lost ground we have lost previously, and reflects the NZ economy perfromance. We have one of the highest growth rates in the OECD, so our currency performing better than most of the OECD.

If exclude mining, we are perfroming better then Aus in growth rates. But we know how the opposition supports mining!

21/08/2012 6:17:11 p.m.

GlobalTrendForCollapse wrote:

100 percent pure Evil Engineering. @Longtrack. Crooked Law,Crooked Banking and Crooked Politic's = death of mankind.

21/08/2012 5:24:22 p.m.

Longtack wrote:

Bah - Mr Peters is a lawyer and some of his peers are charging $10K for a day in court. Who's obscene? Kiwibank ain't making those profits, and people have a choice. Insincere posturing Mr Peters.