Weekly briefs

Kiwis borrow $1.5 billion in three months, Banks go online, A solution for accountants, Bulging bank vaults.

Monday, November 8th 1999, 12:00AM

New Zealand household net worth fell by $1.2 billion in aggregate over the quarter ended June. This compares with consecutive increases in net worth previously recorded in December and March quarters.

Financial net worth, which excludes housing assets and liabilities, actually rose in the three months by a modest $160 million.

The WestpacTrust household savings indicators show that New Zealanders are continuing to borrow heavily to finance their house and other purchases, with debt rising more than $1.5 billion in the quarter ($5.5 billion over 12 months).

Unlike in previous quarters when net worth rose, gains in house values and share prices have not been sufficient in this quarter to offset the higher indebtedness.

Feature: To find out if New Zealanders have been wrong to invest heavily in housing assets CLICK HERE

A solution for accountants

Listed Australian company Solution 6 Holdings has agreed to pay $1.7 million in cash for stockmarket information provider Iguana Information Services.

Solution 6 is the world's leading supplier of business systems to the accounting profession. It plans to use Iguana's tools to offer more comprehensive Australian stockmarket information and live streaming to customers of its Tradewise Internet stockbroking service. The Tradewise service is part of Solution 6’s new www.eccountancy.com Internet portal.

The Iguana acquisition is a key part of Solution 6’s financial services strategy and follows the investment in Hartley Poynton in July and the recent acquisitions of Montgomery Baggett Drews and Dataline Systems last month.

Solution 6’s financial services strategy is based on a model that empowers accountants to provide independent financial services advice and choice to their customers.

Two more banks go online
Both the Bank of New Zealand and the ANZ Bank announced plans last week to taking their banking services online.

Their announcements come in the same week pioneer online bank, Bank Direct, launched an upgrade of its service. Bank Direct, which is owned by ASB Bank, says its latest upgrade and enhancements are aimed at giving customers more control and greater self-sufficiency. It has added more than 15 new online options to its website.

Bank Direct’s new features signal a move from a 3rd generation web site (mainly transactional) to a generation 4 concept, where the emphasis is on customer service, general manager, Jane Freeman says.

BNZ Internet Banking incorporates the most advanced security and the latest technical infrastructures.

BNZ customers will be able to conduct transactions from their own computers, protected by a 168-bit encryption that is the most secure available worldwide.

Bulging bank vaults.1
Bank of New Zealand has announced an after-tax profit of $358 million for the 12 months ending September 30. This is a 24 per cent increase on the previous year ($288 million) in what is an increasingly competitive market.

BNZ Financial Services Group (FSG) enjoyed a 41 per cent increase in retail funds under management to $1.3 billion. Wholesale funds under management increased 32 per cent to $0.9 billion.

FSG posted a 65 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to $20 million. FSG is a leader in retailing insurance in New Zealand - at 30 September 1999 some 82,000 Bank of New Zealand life policies and 122,000 general insurance policies were in force.

Bulging bank vaults.2
WestpacTrust in New Zealand, on Friday, reported a $332 million profit for the year to September 30.

Chief executive Harry Price says the group had performed will in the important areas of managed funds, insurance products and home loans.

This year's profit was $10 million less than in the previous 12 months because of lower income from financial markets trading.

The bank will pay a fully imputed dividend equivalent of A24c a share on the New Zealand class shares. This dividend in 1c higher than forecast in the recent NZ class share prospectus.

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