OPINION: If you asked most people what they think of the banks, the answers probably wouldn't be complimentary. As the big-four banks record profit after record profit, many New Zealanders think it's coming at their expense.
Consumer NZ found this year only 35 per cent of consumers think banks have their best interest at heart. Almost half said they couldn't be trusted.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry in Australia was damning about the behaviour of the big banks' parent companies. A Reserve Bank and Financial Markets Authority review in New Zealand also found conduct issues that needed to be addressed.
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Imagine then, the worst thing that could happen to a sector trying to convince us that it doesn't need more regulatory attention and that it really is working hard for the average New Zealander.
(And those billion-dollar profits while bank branches are closing? Not a problem.)
Could it be this: The chief executive of ANZ, the country's biggest bank, earning more than $3 million a year, has left after an investigation into his personal expenses which found tens of thousands of dollars going on chauffeured cars and wine storage.
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Bodo Lang, head of the marketing department at the University of Auckland, says ANZ did the right thing by negotiating a quick exit for Hisco, and requiring him to forfeit his rights to share options worth $6.4 million.
Although it's worth noting he still leaves with 12 months' notice, which means a pay cheque about 57 times the median wage.
But he says ANZ's image will be tarnished and it could even affect other banks, particularly those that are large and foreign-owned.
"New Zealand consumers often struggle to see meaningful differences between large banks. In cases such as this, that lack of differentiation can become a liability."
He says many consumers already struggle with how much bank bosses are paid.
There's definitely something about being stung $12 for paying a credit card bill late when the boss of the company is putting a wine "collection" on the tab.
Lang doesn't think ANZ customers will leave over it, though.
"There may be a slight depression in customer acquisition and a slight elevation in short-term customer churn but when all is said in done, most bank customers are quite locked into their banking relationships.
"Very few bank customers in general switch each year, despite many being less than satisfied. So all in all, the announcement of Hisco's departure will have a short-term image effect but is unlikely to significantly shift market shares between banks. What it has achieved is to discourage questionable behaviour in the near future."
Claire Matthews, a banking expert at Massey University, has a more hopeful approach.
She
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