(New Zealand) – The New Zealand Post Office’s no frills retail banking venture, Kiwibank, has announced a NZ$6.5 million loss for the six months to December, but says it is heartened by the level of public support.Kiwibank Chief Executive Sam Knowles said Kiwibank, which started in February last year with NZ$80 million of public money, had seen its home loan book increase from NZ$42 million to NZ$262 million, while retail deposits rose from NZ$86 million to NZ$286 million.
Kiwibank had 95,000 customers at the end of last year, but has since grown that to 120,000.
The year old bank does not plan to turn a profit until its third year of operation.
Kiwibank also faces competition in the no frills banking market from the newly launched Superbank, a joint venture between grocery chain Foodstuffs and Australia’s St George.