The corporate sector, in contrast to the household sector in New Zealand, has over recent years been saving strongly; savings that ultimately are reinvested, returned to shareholders, or used for equity  8  BIS Review 108/2006  investment in other operations. The very low levels of household savings need to be viewed against this stronger corporate savings performance.
Where do New Zealand corporates get their financing from? As noted above, the family-owned firms, farms and forests turn to the household sector. New Zealand corporates raise most debt finance directly from banks, either from the New Zealand subsidiary or, if they are big enough, directly from the offshore parent bank.