The opposition led banking inquiry report has been released claiming banks propped up their profit margins by not passing on cuts to the official cash rate earlier this year and at the other end of the argument, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has reported that "margins on floating rate mortgages have declined towards normal levels". For more on the banking inquiry report and to have your say click here and click here to check out the RBNZ story.
Another story of note is the warning given to the banks from the Reserve Bank Governor, Alan Bollard, to avoid any return to riskier mortgage lending practices as there has been some signs of easing in recent months.
