Business confidence has strengthened in ANZ's first survey of the year.

It has been a big week for the sharemarket as the reporting season continues and stocks make big price moves.

Home loans became more affordable last month, with the typical home buyer saving $30 per week on mortgage repayments compared to December.

New Zealand's banks had a bumper 2014, with home loan demand amid a booming property market helping to boost their combined profit by more than 20 per cent to a record $4.8 billion.

A vibrant 'GAYTM' on Ponsonby Road has been struck by vandals overnight, with the ANZ machine covered in white paint.

Consumer confidence has dipped this month, the ANZ-Roy Morgan survey found, though it remains higher than for most of the post-recession period.

A probe into how three banks marketed interest rate swaps to farmers will see up to $24.2 million go back to rural customers and their communities, with Westpac following ANZ and ASB and settling with the Commerce Commission.

Out-of-court settlements may be cheaper, quicker and more certain than seeing a case through - but they can often feel like a cop-out.

ANZ said it expects dairy prices to continue this year's firming trend at tomorrow's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

The economy was still on a roll as it started 2015, ANZ's Truckometer indicator suggests.

NZIER's monetary policy shadow board believes the Reserve Bank should leave the official cash rate on hold at 3.5 per cent tomorrow but that the next best option would be a cut.

The prospect of further rises in the Reserve Bank's official cash rate has disappeared over the horizon.

ANZ says business will continue as usual today, despite dozens of workers going on strike.

She was the coach behind New Zealand's only transtasman league win. Now she is the coach behind Northern Mystics mentor Debbie Fuller.

Consumers are feeling more cheerful going into the peak Christmas trading period, the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey has found.

Australian banks should be forced to hold more capital to minimise their risk of failure and improve competition, the Financial System Inquiry has found.

Middle-aged home buyers face being locked out of the property market because banks are worried they are too old to pay off their mortgage before they retire.

ANZ has admitted misleading conduct over interest rate swaps and up to 178 farmers will now have to decide whether to accept their share of $18.5 million from the bank.

ANZ will pay $18.5m to some of its rural customers who complained about interest rate swaps after reaching a settling with the Commerce Commission.

You don't need to walk far in Auckland to see that the face of the city has changed almost beyond recognition in recent decades.

The top financial institutions have held their positions on the Top 30 rankings for financial institutions.

Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer says the arrival of Asian banking giants is a watershed event that will boost competition and keep the dominant lenders "on their toes".

ANZ New Zealand chief executive David Hisco has enjoyed a solid pay rise, with his total remuneration lifting almost 15 per cent to $4.7 million.

Westpac NZ's record annual cash profit of $864m confirms a bumper year for the big banks. In fact, at $4.1b, that's almost $1000 for every man, woman and child in NZ.

ANZ New Zealand boosted annual earnings 17 per cent as the local unit of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group benefited from home loan lending growth and bedded down savings from the integration of the National Bank brand.

ANZ New Zealand's profit climbed $343 million in the past 12 months to a record $1.71 billion.