Kiwibank to turn $40m profit this year

Kiwibank would declare a profit of $40 million this year, Cabinet Minister Jim Anderton said today.

Mr Anderton, who had championed the opening of a New Zealand-owned bank, said it had 600,000 customers and was getting about 1500 new customers a week.

Mr Anderton, who leads the Progressive Party, said Kiwibank had more than $7 billion of deposits and loans.

"It will declare a profit of $40 million this year. That's half of what it cost us to open it," he said.

Kiwibank had been operating for more than six years.

A new product about to be launched was a reloadable credit card.

Mr Anderton told the Horowhenua Grey Power Association meeting today that this would appeal to older New Zealanders who were turned down for credit cards from other banks because their only income was superannuation.

The reloadable credit card would use "your money, not money borrowed from the bank".

It was a variation of NZ Post's Prezzie card that already operated but with the reloadable credit card, a customer would be able to "top it up, not use it then throw it away".

It would be useful for people on low incomes who were denied conventional credit cards and for people who did not like to borrow money.

It would operate through Visa, so would be able to be used anywhere Visa cards could be, he said.

- NZPA