A New Zealand union has called for the government to increase regulations on the banking sector, claiming that the country’s four largest banks paid over 220 percent of their profits in dividends while lowering conditions for workers. The New Zealand finance sector union Finsec has cried out in protest to ANZ, Westpac, BNZ and ASB banks paying out large dividends while allegedly making jobs redundant, freezing wages and outsourcing work. According to Finsec, the combined profit in 2009 for the four largest banks ... Read More

Five years of legal wrangling has ended in a NZD2.2 billion settlement reached between the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the country's four largest banks. The multi-billion dollar agreement between the IRD and four Australian-owned banks, the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), ANZ National (ANZ), Westpac and ASB Bank ,was announced in a settlement by Peter Dunne, New Zealand Minister of Revenue on December 23rd. The settlement, believed to be the largest in the country's history, revolves around alleged tax ... Read More

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has won its tax evasion case against Westpac Banking Corp, resulting in a NZ$918 million fine for the bank. The New Zealand High Court made a decision to dismiss Westpac’s challenge to IRD’s decision that the bank owes $586 million in taxes for a series of structured finance transactions. The IRD claimed that between 1998 and 2002 the bank undertook a series of offshore transactions whose sole purpose was tax evasion. The court proceedings centered around nine such ... Read More