ANALYSIS: Party reckons rating agencies will be fine with the Govt taking out more debt.
PremiumAnalysisAnalysis byJenée TibshraenyWellington Business Editor·NZ Herald·21 May, 2026 06:09 AM5 mins to readWellington Business Editor, Jenée Tibshraeny, covers business, the economy and public policy for the Business Herald.New Zealand First says it would be open to private investment in the big new bank it would like the Crown to create by buying BNZ and merging it with Kiwibank.
The party is campaigning on offering the National Bank of Australia (NAB) a premium to try to convince it
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Critics argue expanding Kiwibank with private capital would be a better option.
New Zealand First might want the government to buy back BNZ and meld it with Kiwibank - but there's limited evidence that it…
"It would require a number of Kiwis to front up with a whole bunch of cash to buy a new bank," an economist says.
Michael Reddell said he "blanched" when he heard Winston Peters' promise to buy back BNZ.
'Significant fiscal constraints' restrict Govt's ability to inject capital into the bank.
The NZ First policies would give newborns a $1000 KiwiSaver start, while combining BNZ and Kiwibank under Crown ownership.
