Kiwibank branches would be opened across the country from this Saturday in a nationwide rollout following successful pilot openings of seven branches in Palmerston North and Hawke's Bay, the bank said today.
"This really is a major development for Kiwibank," said chief executive Sam Knowles.
"We've been through the crucial stages of
developing the bank's systems and procedures. We've put everything through rigorous testing, we've received full registration from the Reserve Bank and for the last five weeks we've been fully operational in Palmerston North and Hawke's Bay."
Mr Knowles said it was planned to open between 25 and 30 branches a week during the next two months.
The first of the new branches would be opened at the Albany PostShop in Auckland. Eight more would be operating by the end of next week and by the end of this month there would be 36 branches open.
The state-owned bank, brainchild of Alliance leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton, is undercutting mortgage rates and other charges imposed on clients by the big banks.
It was able to do so because the established banks had been making big profits on home lending, Massey University banking studies senior lecturer David Tripe said last month.
The banks have been reporting record profits and have claimed that higher fees were necessary to offset reduced margins on lending interest rates.
Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash today raised the official cash rate, the benchmark for mortgage and business lending rates, from 4.75 per cent to 5.0 per cent.
He said Kiwibank's branch opening programme had not been a factor in his decision.
- NZPA
