Low-income families dependent on welfare top-ups are being turned down for home loans by the Government-owned Kiwibank, but welcomed at mainstream banks.
Monday, February 23rd 2004, 7:58AM
by The Landlord
Dubbed "The People's Bank", Kiwibank is the only major lender that refuses to count income-tested payments such as family support, paid to tens of thousands of working families, when assessing how much they can afford to pay off a mortgage.
A Kiwibank spokesman said such payments were not considered "stable income".
Yet National, Westpac, ANZ, BNZ, ASB and TSB banks all confirmed they lent money to poorer families on the basis of how much state support they received.
