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Posts Tagged ‘Kiwibank’

On the 15th of September 2009 Kiwibank and Ge Finance & Insurance (Ge Money) partnership in providing personal loans began. I had some major reservations when I heard this and I’d like to hear from others about your views on this “partnership”.

Our Reputation Being Tarnished by having a State Owned Bank involved with GE.

When Kiwibank was first launched I thought what a great idea finally a New Zealand owned bank where the profits would be spent here in New Zealand on New Zealanders and not sent overseas to fill the usual suspects treasure chests.

One of the first things I thought about when I heard about this alliance was the effect on New Zealand reputation one of our core industries and prime assets is our Country side and how it brings in a lot of tourism dollars. Ge Money is a subsidiary of General Electric a company which has a shocking record of pollution and involvement in fraud and charges of corruption they have in fact been fined 100s of millions of dollars for doing so.

GE has a history of some of its activities giving rise to large-scale air and water pollution. Based on year 2000 data, researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute listed the corporation as the fourth-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with more than 4.4 million pounds per year (2,000 Tonnes) of toxic chemicals released into the air. GE has also been implicated in the creation of toxic waste. According to EPA documents, only the United States Government, Honeywell, and Chevron Corporation are responsible for producing more Superfund toxic waste sites.

The Loss of Revenue to Kiwibank and its customers, Nz Tax payers and Residents.

General Electric has a record of doing what makes it the most profit not what is morally responsible I very much doubt that the profits they are making apart from some token charities are re invested back into New Zealand for the benefit of all. Why Kiwibank isn’t providing its own service where they keep 100% of the profits is beyond me.

Also by aligning itself with a Bank New Zealanders trust Ge Money has managed what no other private Finance Company has managed to do – This in turn gives them an unfair advantage over other organizations in the Finance Sector and is also aids in creating a false impression to the public.

Credit unions aside it is a common belief between held a by a majority of people that banks provide lower Interest rates and charges than finance companies. While Kiwibank customers can get a lower rate than the standard Ge Money Customer a lot of people will be under the false impression that as Ge money is partnered with a bank their loan rates must be lower than other providers. The sad fact is Ge Money has outrageous loan fees and charges double what most Credit card companies charge for a personal unsecured loan.

The standard loan amount {their minimum they quote} of $3000 dollars comes with a $275 application fee which incurs interest from day one of the loan this adds a 10.9% to their rate of 34.5% bringing the total interest rate to 44.5% on day one of the loan. This rate isn’t easy to find on their website, I personally have had documentation from them stating their rates are 19.5 percent only to ring and be told otherwise. For most people finding out what the rate is doesn’t come till they are in the actual application process.

Going back to Kiwibank and Ge Money arrangement the percentage that Kiwibank makes for basically being a referral service to Ge money isn’t disclosed.

Lastly what are the effects on Finance companies that are New Zealand owned and do spend or distribute their profits inside this country how many of them are finding it harder to compete in the market place and why is exclusivity given to only Ge Money this is my major concern.

Once the deal was finalized between Kiwibank and Ge Money, Ge money shut down 19 of its offices nationwide effectively ending the employment of many of their staff.