It is not clear to me why this discrepancy between banks and other businesses is so large, but perhaps at least part of it can be explained by the fact that, historically, governments have been much more reluctant to allow a bank to fail than other types of businesses, which may lead banks to operate closer to the edge.
We believe that this balance of funding sources is not in the best interests of New Zealanders, which is why we are proposing change. I will explain why. 9 We have included a chart in the Appendix to reflect this disparity; this chart also includes NZX-listed property  trusts as an industry with some similarities in its business model to banking.