By the beginning of the 21st century every major New Zealand bank was in Australian hands, so it was not surprising there was an increasing tempo of talk about ironing out the differences in trans-Tasman banking regulations. The Australian banking takeover that created the most headlines was the National Australia Bank’s purchase of the Bank of New Zealand. Through the 1980s the Bank of New Zealand had lent recklessly to equally reckless entrepreneurs who took risks that Australia’s Ned Kelly would have considered foolhardy. number of their companies collapsed post-1987 and embarrassed governments of both stripes were forced to prop up the iconic bank with the injection of staggering $1.3 billion in cash. Conveniently, the secret sale to National Australia Bank in 1992 snuffed out calls for public enquiry.
Chicane, PSA Journal, March-April 1989.
From the NZ Cartoon Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library,
P O Box 12349, Wellington, Tel/fax 04-474 3154
The national collection of cartoons and caricatures
