Will the same IT as Macquarie aid Kiwibank to be a maverick?

Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich. Source: Kiwibank.

Finance minister Nicola Willis has said that a public share offering for Kiwibank will have to wait until its current digital transformation is completed and that isn’t expected until 2028.

Willis does think that that’s the most likely way of providing Kiwibank with sufficient capital to allow it to play a “maverick” role in competing against the big four Australian-owned banks, as the Commerce Commission has recommended.

One reason why ComCom thought this was one of the fastest ways to introduce greater competition into New Zealand banking is the example of Macquarie Bank in Australia.

Macquarie is widely credited with providing the competition that has been driving bank margins down in Oz – Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA’s) net interest margin (NIM) has dropped from 3.1% in June 1999 to 2.08% in the six months ended December last year.

Macquarie’s competitiveness has been fuelled by its use of digital technology.