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![Kirk Hope: Ensuring fiscal stability a delicate balancing act](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Kirk Hope: Ensuring fiscal stability a delicate balancing act
The overarching theme for banking around the world in 2013 will continue to be financial stability - how to achieve it, and how to maintain it, writes Kirk Hope.
![Wall St rally stokes appetite for NZ dollar](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Wall St rally stokes appetite for NZ dollar
The dollar gained against the greenback as improving US employment figures underpinned a rally on Wall Street.
![Bank policy battle is heating up](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Bank policy battle is heating up
Imagine it would be if you had just struggled to save a 10 per cent deposit for your first home only to be told you now had only half the money you need, writes Liam Dann.
![No signing, no Pin, just wave card](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
No signing, no Pin, just wave card
Shoppers can now buy nearly $80 worth of goods on a credit card at many shops without having to sign or use a Pin number.
![House fears: OCR stays put at 2.5pc](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
House fears: OCR stays put at 2.5pc
The Reserve Bank says the OCR will stay at a record low of 2.5 per cent, as rising house prices are singled out as a threat to New Zealand's financial stability.
![Home loans and risks in Reserve Bank sights](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Home loans and risks in Reserve Bank sights
Debate about rising house prices in Auckland and elsewhere has included discussion on the risk weights the Reserve Bank requires banks to apply to their housing lending.
![Long-term mortgage rates war](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Long-term mortgage rates war
Banks are slashing their long-term mortgage rates, with customers tied up for longer periods likely to save thousands.
![Rush for home loans](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Rush for home loans
Mortgage approvals reached their highest levels in almost four years last month, as people rushed to make the most of low interest rates.
![Hubbard claims cause little surprise](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Hubbard claims cause little surprise
Claims that late Timaru businessman Allan Hubbard misled investors came as no surprise to those still waiting for money out of his collapsed financial empire.