NZ First on plans to buy BNZ: "Oligarchs dominate the banking sector" | Ryan Bridge TODAY

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Playing common sense was a New Zealand First tagline at the campaign event yesterday. Leader Winston Peters announcing a proposed buyback of the Bank of New Zealand and merging it with Kiwi Bank. He also announced the party would make KiwiSaver compulsory from birth with a $1,000 Crown contribution.

[00:00:17]This will be the start of the nest egg for something that'll be called the KiwiSaver generation.

[00:00:24]Universal birth enrollment will ensure every child begins their financial life as a KiwiSaver member with a meaningful balance already growing on their behalf.

[00:00:37]It makes plain common sense.

[00:00:41]New Zealand First Deputy Leader Winston Peters with uh sorry, Shane Jones with us this morning. Morning, Shane.

[00:00:47]Morning. Greetings. Uh BNZ, do you force them to sell it to you or do you just buy it by paying them loads more than it's worth? No, look, we're a disruptive party. We were always going to put uh the need for more economic nationalism, competition in the banking sector, and all of the details will be fleshed out as we get closer to the election, but we're sick to death of this uh vested interest in the banking sector, the power sector, and the super-supermarket sector uh railing against politicians with fresh ideas like ourselves not being able to hold an opinion or go out and contest these ideas in front of the electorate. And we're going to do it.

[00:01:23]How does merging two banks create more competition?

[00:01:26]Well, obviously uh there's it's no secret that in the market several years ago, the owners of BNZ were keen to um jettison the BNZ. Now, I don't know whether or not that's still their issue, and it's no secret that in order for the Kiwi Bank, which has been starved of capital, and of course Bill English hated the Kiwi Bank, um that um size matters in the world of banking. But once again, I say to you, the full conchiers will be laid out once we get further into the campaign.

[00:01:57]So, does that mean you don't know yet how much you might have to pay for it, where you get the money from, and what it'll do to our debt position? You're just floating ideas? No, what I'm saying it's almost biblical. There's a time for all things.

[00:02:10]But why not today? I mean, it clearly indicates, doesn't it, that you don't know the answers. You don't have them yet, so you're just flying a flag.

[00:02:18]No, what it shows that you're true to form, you're being agent provocateur, which is your job in the fourth estate, and my job is to engender, along with my leader, debate and remind Kiwis that the oligarchs that dominate the banking sector and spirit excessive profits back to Australia, while ordinary garden garden variety Kiwis struggle to access capital, which is why our productivity continues to flatline, internationally punitive energy prices, food prices that no one can afford, and banking services that diminish by the day. And those are the things we're going to campaign on. Just because the government owns something, it doesn't make the prices cheaper for us at the checkout, right? We know this because of energy. We own 51% in the Gentailers, doesn't mean we're getting cheap energy. And that's because the National Party in the days of Jenny Shipley made the wrong choice, which is why we've already said we're going to break up the Gentailers, and I'm on my way to Queenstown to remind the Gentailers of that and to warn them to not interfere in politics, as I believe some of them did to prevent Winston and I having more of an influence in the last election on energy policy.

[00:03:26]What are you What are you implying?

[00:03:29]I'm not implying anything. I'm going to give them a message that democracy trumps the um uh the mischievous ways of those corporate flat catchers that represent the Gentailers.

[00:03:42]So, when it come I spoke to David Seymour, had him on the show this morning. He said the BNZ thing will not happen in any government that he's a part of. Basically, it would be a bottom line. So, you guys are a bottom line.

[00:03:52]No, we won't sell any assets. He's a bottom line. No, we won't buy any assets like BNZ. So, both both of these policies, asset sales and the BNZ thing, are basically a non-starter unless there is a two-party government.

[00:04:09]Oh, look, I don't want to get on your program and say unwise and foolish things about David. In actual fact, I get along quite well with David Seymour who's own family were one of the most famous business families of the Taitokerau. We have our differences.

[00:04:26]He's a lot younger than me.

[00:04:28]By the time I was his age, I think I had seven kids. So, he's got his experiences, I've got mine.

[00:04:35]Shane, what about the the sovereign I mean, you know, with the oil and gas ban, which you know, obviously you guys supported or part helped pass. I think acquiesce would be the best word to use.

[00:04:47]Okay, fair enough. But, how do you prevent a similar problem from happening? So, if you go after, you know, BNZ say, "Well, we we want to nationalize it or take it back, whatever." Do you not create a regulatory risk for businesses who are thinking of coming and doing business here?

[00:05:04]Well, if all businesses coming to New Zealand, all investors coming to New Zealand realize that we have a clean pair of hands. But, I want you and I to think about the 5 million Kiwis who are burdened through an absence of productivity, who are continually burdened through an absence of affordable capital. That's why Erica Stanford convinced Winston and I to introduce the golden visa, to introduce the notion through the AIP immigration scheme that would bring in billions of dollars worth of capital. I think it's up to 2 billion now through the 5 billion and the 10 billion and the 5 million and the 10 million because the banking sector for certain elements in the economy was unwilling to fund it.

[00:05:46]So, it's just not credible for you to come on this program and into for me to come on your program and for you to pose questions to me on the pretense that our financial system is tickety-boo. It's not. And it's not unreasonable for a politician like my leader to say, "Right, we're going to disrupt the system and we're going to bring ideas that gets everyone talking rather than justifying a non-competitive, calcified system that everyone knows is not working for day-to-day Kiwis."