New Zealand’s five major banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank and Westpac) have continued to show strong profits and lending growth in the first quarter of the 2015 however lending margins are beginning to contract due to stiff competition. Net profit before tax increased by $94 million or 5.9% to $1.69 billion for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $1.59 …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.8 percent weekly decline as financial markets remain volatile ahead of Greece’s referendum on whether to accept a bailout package from its European creditors, and as the wheels start coming off the local economy. The kiwi dropped to 67.18 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 68.42 cents on Friday in New York …

British American Tobacco Holdings (New Zealand), the nation’s largest cigarette company, reported a 3.9 percent decline in annual profit as it absorbed the government’s latest hike in excise tax. The local arm of British American Tobacco, whose brands include Pall Mall, Benson & Hedges and Dunhill, reported net profit of $126.5 million in calendar 2014, down from $131.6 million a year …