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NZ introduces deposit guarantee scheme; ASB launch global sustainability fund.

Monday, October 13th 2008, 5:00AM

New Zealand has followed Australia in introducing a guarantee scheme for bank deposits to try to mitigate the effects of financial market turbulence.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen will use his powers under the Public Finance Act to introduce an opt-in retail deposit guarantee scheme, he said in a statement emailed to BusinessWire.

“We want to ensure that ordinary New Zealanders feel that their deposits are safe in the current uncertain international financial market conditions,” Cullen said.

The announcement came after finance chiefs from the Group of Seven nations meeting in Washington vowed to “take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets” and prevent major banks from collapsing. Australia’s government is introducing a scheme this week to guarantee bank deposits up to A$20,000.

New Zealand’s will be an opt-in scheme, covering retail deposits from banks, building societies, credit unions and deposit-taking finance companies who chose to participate.

The scheme will be free for institutions with total retail deposits under $5 billion and large firms will be charged 10 basis points a year. That means a bank with $20 billion in retail deposits would pay $15 million in annual fees, according to Cullen’s statement.

The guarantee is for two years, giving finance markets time to stabilize, he said.

ASB launch global sustainability fund

ASB Group Investments has launched a sustainability unit trust in the new FirstChoice Funds range, due to the high level of interest in the FirstChoice KiwiSaver Global Sustainability Fund launched earlier this year.

The Generation Global Sustainability Fund integrates sustainability research into its investment process with the aim of generating long-term performance. It is offered as part of the ASB’s responsible investment policy.

“New Zealanders have shown a huge interest in sustainability and we have seen this flow into their investing. As a result we are now offering investors the ability to invest in this unit trust via custodial service providers," says Greg McAllister, head of wholesale distribution.

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