New Zealand banks have been raising billions of dollars in recent weeks by doing something their Australian parent companies can not yet legally do - issue covered bonds.

The Reserve Bankdid nothing today, as expected. It did nothing to stop New Zealand's slide in relative poverty.

Glass maker Metro GlassTech is the latest heavily indebted overseas private equity owned business to get into strife with its bankers, says one report.

National lacks the courage to tackle Australian banks which have saddled NZ with billions in debt, says Greens co-leader Russel Norman.

There is nothing wrong with ministers accepting hospitality from the Government's banker Westpac, and it won't have any bearing on the decision that will follow a competitive tender for the contract, the Prime Minister says.

Kiwibank has revealed it borrowed $927m on short term 'hot' European money markets in five months and has quickly lent on much of it into the housing market.

NZ Post says it has ambitious plans for its subsidiary Kiwibank to take a bigger slice of the business banking market.

The four big Australian-owned banks - ANZ National, ASB, Bank of New Zealand and Westpac - are creaming it in New Zealand.

Cutting debt - we'll be hearing plenty about that in next week's Budget, and the election campaign. But how deep in hock are we? Brian Fallow reports.

For 15 straight years until the recession of 2008-09, the New Zealand Government ran surpluses and paid down debt.

More insurance companies may require bailouts as a result of the Christchurch earthquakes.