Spreading your contributions over a period of time can help smooth out some of the fluctuations in the entry price of your fund.

All advanced countries except NZ offer protection for ordinary depositors of up to $300,000 a deposit in each financial institution, writes David Mayes.

Class action acts as a "handbrake to corporate mischief" and should be allowed in New Zealand, says a Christchurch lawyer.

Fans of John Grisham will be familiar with get-rich-quick lawyers filing billion-dollar lawsuits against wealthy villains.

This week's move by a group of lawyers to take legal action against the NZ banks over default fees is not the first time banks have come under pressure.

The kiwi dollar dropped by 1 US cent after the Reserve Bank warned that a strong currency could always prompt an OCR cut.

The Reserve Bank says the Official Cash Rate will stay at its record low of 2.5pc. The kiwi dollar dropped on the news.

A massive class-action suit being taken against New Zealand's big four banks and Kiwibank was announced with much fanfare earlier this week.

Kiwi bank customers are being stung by significantly higher default fees than their Australian counterparts but some say banks across the Tasman are undercharging.

Businesses expect the New Zealand dollar to peak around the middle of the year before declining, according to an ASB Bank survey.

Andrew Hooker won't say who he banks with but isn't worried that the billion-dollar legal case he is taking against New Zealand's major banks will force him to stash his cash under a mattress.

ANZ's Truckometer indicator is pointing to a tepid start to the year and a risk of recent history repeating, where short-term surges in momentum are followed by a slump.

More than 10,000 people have registered to join a billion dollar legal case against New Zealand's major banks in less than 24 hours.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's computer systems have fallen victim to cyber hacking in at least two sophisticated online attacks.

A banking expert says a bid to take a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit against New Zealand's banks is ambitious and the amount claimable appears to be inflated.

A billion-dollar lawsuit against New Zealand's banks could have an impact on their bottom line profits but the banks' lobby group says it has doubts over the claim gaining traction.

New Zealand banks face what is expected to be the biggest class suit the country has seen over $1 billion in default fees claimed by lenders over the past six years.

The financial markets see no chance the Reserve Bank will raise the official cash rate on Thursday, so their focus will be on how the accompanying monetary policy statement describes the balance of risks going forward.