Budget 2020: What bank bosses want to see

Finance Minister Grant Robertson will deliver the Budget on Thursday. Photo / file

New Zealand bank bosses say targeted support for struggling industries, stimulus to encourage consumers to spend and re-training packages to help those who have lost their jobs to get back into work are what they are looking for in today's Budget to get business back on its feet.

Finance minister Grant Robertson will deliver the annual Budget speech to the nation at 2pm as the country emerges from level 3 lockdown allowing most businesses to re-open.

Banks have been at the frontline for weeks dealing with both businesses and individual customers needing financial support through loan deferrals, overdraft extensions and new lending and are expected to book millions in loan defaults as people struggle to pay debt in the coming months.

ANZ New Zealand chief executive Antonia Watson. Photo / Supplied

Antonia Watson, chief executive of ANZ New Zealand - the country's largest bank, believes the Budget will need to have a clear vision for what the new normal will look like, and initiatives and support to help New Zealanders make the transition.

"There are opportunities for New Zealanders to lead the way on new businesses and ideas, and already we've seen how quickly Kiwi businesspeople have adapted to new ways of doing almost everything, so I'm optimistic."

But Watson said industries, such as tourism and retail, will have to dramatically change their focus or use the resources, the technology and the knowledge at their disposal in new ways.

"Short term, the Budget will need to support the vulnerable in our communities, until the new reality becomes clear and businesses can make the transition. This might include targeted wage subsidies for parts of the economy more likely to recover quicker and provide jobs or assistance where re-training is required.

"At the same time, the Government should look to what industries we have that will continue to keep the export earnings flowing in, and ensure they have the regulatory freedom and incentives to maximise their contribution to the economy while other industries rethink and rebuild."

Vittoria Shortt, ASB chief executive. Photo / file

Vittoria Shortt, chief executive at ASB, said it supported the swift action the Government had taken to assist Kiwis through the Covid-19 lockdown, particularly the employer wage subsidy scheme.

"From here, the immediate focus must be preserving jobs and creating incentives to get businesses and households to spend."

Shortt said it had seen a significant reduction in spending during Level 4, so as the country opened up businesses and people needed a reason to bring some spending forward.

"There is a lot the Government could look at in relation to temporary tax incentives - for example enabling much larger asset depreciation deductions and considering reducing or eliminating GST for a temporary period to encourage added retail spending."

Shortt said as the focus shifted to economic recovery re-skilling and re-deploying workers towards productive parts of the economy would be essential.

"Funding could be reallocated from the tertiary education sector (for example freezing expansion of free fees) to upskilling and retraining workers, subsidisation of apprenticeships and more targeted job matching."

BNZ chief executive Angela Mentis. Photo / Supplied

Angela Mentis, BNZ chief executive, said the Government's focus so far had been on the immediate management of Covid-19 and delivering unprecedented fiscal stimulus to support businesses and keep jobs.

"It is the right thing to do and you only have to look at the progress we've made in the fight against COVID-19 to see as a country we have stepped up."

She said providing a clear plan ahead was the next step.

"Certainty is difficult to provide at the best of times, but a clear pathway and milestones that are well signposted is needed for businesses and their employees as we ignite all the closed parts of our economy."

Mentis said it was essential to support retraining programmes to accelerate productivity and deliver skills to people and New Zealand businesses whose work environment has been impacted.

"While the focus of the Budget will necessarily be on the short term and looking after New Zealanders, I'd like to see something that reshapes and prepares us for the future."

She said there had been more digital adoption by businesses and people alike in the last month than in the years before it.

"That is something we should be embracing so we can connect with more businesses and customers around the world and, closer to home, run our businesses more efficiently with smaller carbon footprints."

Westpac New Zealand chief executive David McLean. Photo / file

Westpac chief executive David McLean, said there was a lot of commentary around what the Government was doing and an expectation the Government would do everything perfectly. But he said nobody really knows how the economy is going to work out. It was unreasonable to expect the government's packages to solve all problems.

"I think the one thing I would say is the NZ government has done a really good job with the four levels. People have had a really clear idea what each level meant."

McLean said giving certainty to businesses as the country came out of lockdown was the main thing the Government could do.

"It's hard to work out where the gaps will be. But I think some of these packages might need to be more targeted at specific sectors."

Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich. Photo / Doug Sherring

Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich said he was looking for the Government to build on its initial strong response to Covid-19.

"The budget needs to provide New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses with clarity and deliver confidence that the Government has a plan to recover and rebuild.

"We'd like to see that support will be provided to those who need it most with a sense of urgency and at scale. Covid-19 has had a profound impact on our economy and our wellbeing, and the Government has an opportunity to present a budget that delivers the direct stimulus required to get New Zealand moving again."