Hide sight: Just how savvy is bullish Czar Jim's new bank?

Friday 2nd March 2001

Business Czar Jim Anderton has promised taxpayers a 23% rate of return on the $78 million he's investing in his People's Bank. That sort of return is the "price gouging" he complained of when campaigning against the foreign-owned banks.

The only possible explanation is that he finds it acceptable to gouge you with your own money. But Mr Anderton's bullish promise failed to move Standard & Poor's. It downgraded New Zealand Post's credit rating precisely because of the risk.

Nothing adds up. New Zealand Post spent money last week trying to gag Richard Prebble from releasing details of their business plan. Far from wanting to explain what their plan is, New Zealand Post bosses went to extraordinary lengths to shut down an elected MP.

The move was bound to fail and it did. Its only impact was to raise further questions about the bank's viability and the commercial and political savvy of chairman Ross Armstrong and chief executive Elmar Toime.

So far this is what we know about the bank: First, it still remains up in the air. Mr Anderton started off calling it the "Kiwi Bank." He then started calling it "Our Bank" and then the "People's Bank." He subsequently (and somewhat immodestly) dubbed it "Jim's Bank." The business plan is confused. It refers variously to "MyBank" or simply as "NewBank."

Second, New Zealand Post is worried about too many beneficiaries and other low income people using the bank. It cites "Customer mix skewed to low end" as a "high negative risk" and suggests increasing "transaction account charges" as the remedy. Did they tell Jim?

As a mitigant, they are going to "monitor customer acquisition and be prepared to change offering to attract right customers." That means hitting Mr Anderton's supporters hard in the pocket.

Third, the bank will piggy-back off the overseas-owned banks' ATM and eftpos networks. Every time a beneficiary uses his ATM card, the "Jim's Bank" will have to cough-up and contribute to the profits of the foreign-owned banks. Did they tell Jim?

Fourth, there is union trouble. In commenting on employment issues, the business plan declares the "good pay" New Zealand Post workers currently enjoy doesn't "preclude union resistance on issues such as additional workload, increase in job complexity, change of job focus and greater exposure to personal security risk." This sounds like trouble to me. Have they told the workers?

Fifth, no extra staff. "Once a settled state is achieved, little if any additional staffing will be required in each site. The projected time demand of 75 minutes per store per day is well within staffing capacity and would be absorbed without additional resource in most sites." They haven't told Jim. He's promised at least an extra 100 jobs.

Sixth, staff training. Two options are considered. The cheap option is for staff to run through a training CD-Rom in between customers for a total of eight hours. The expensive option is a one-day regional briefing and training session. I suspect other potential bank customers are like me and want their bank staff to have a lot more expertise than can be gained from a quick look at a CD-Rom.

Seventh, security. The business plan considers security as "one of the most significant implications surrounding the banking project." The proposal is to fence-off "secure areas" within Post Shops and to secure them with second-hand gear New Zealand Post hopes the foreign-owned banks have as surplus to their requirements and will willingly sell to a would-be competitor for a discount.

Eighth, "Jim's Bank" is going to spend $4 million on a "crusade against the major banks." New Zealand Post's marketing plan rests on xenophobia and stirring up an anti-capitalist sentiment. It should annoy all New Zealanders their money is to be spent on what Mr Anderton in a lifetime of politics has failed to achieve: a closed, inward-looking, socialist society.

Finally, competition. The plan declares the Taranaki Savings Bank and the Southland Building Society "have significant regional shares and are expanding nationwide on a niche basis and will therefore compete head-to-head in acquiring new customers in their respective growth regions. PSIS will compete strongly on price and will be difficult to compete with."

So a state bank pumped up with taxpayers' money is going head-to-head with community-owned banks - the very model that the left holds to be ideal.

The Greens have not been told this. They gave their support to "Jim's Bank" on the basis it would work co-operatively with the community banks.

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