Kiwibank closes in on target

By KEVIN TAYLOR

New Zealand Post will fall just short of opening 300 Kiwibank branches by Christmas, but will come close.

The bank has 289 branches signed up to open, with 270 already open, says New Zealand Post chief executive Elmar Toime.

The problems encountered in reaching the 300 figure included difficulties fitting banking facilities into the remaining franchises.

"We won't achieve 300 branches by Christmas," Toime said yesterday.

"In a way it does not matter though, because we are getting the good growth we need already. We will make 300 outlets at some point."

He said NZ Post was not pressing remaining franchisees to sign up because it did not need to.

The bank has more than 80,000 customers, and to the end of September had lent $150 million and taken $187 million in deposits.

Kiwibank opened in February to claims it would fail to sign up many NZ Post franchises because some were revolting against the payment they would get for each bank transaction.

Act MP Rodney Hide led the criticism of the deal they were offered.

In April NZ Post offered to pay fit-out costs as a sweetener.

In early May Kiwibank's chief executive, Sam Knowles, admitted that the bank had underestimated the difficulties in signing up franchises and that it would not have 300 branches open by mid-year as earlier promised.

Herald feature: KiwiBank