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As bank profits soar, and calls are made for an inquiry into bank practices, a former banker with 25 years experience says it is savers who are being ripped off.
New Zealand's banks' combined annual profit surged by more than $1 billion in the last year , exceeding $7 billion for the first time, according to KPMG's annual Financial Institutions Performance Survey.
The Commerce minister, Duncan Webb, says the government is actively considering a Commerce Commission study into bank profits, and has dismissed National's suggestion of a shorter select committee inquiry, describing it as a "quick and dirty" proposal.
David Cunningham is Chief Executive of mortgage broker and lender Squirrel. He has spent nearly 25 years as a banker - with both Westpac and latterly as Chief Executive of The Co-operative bank.
He says soaring mortgage interest rates have been in the headlines recently, but he believes borrowers actually get a great deal, and is is is savers who are bearing the brunt and boosting bank profitability
