5  An important feature is that it is highly concentrated: of the 26 registered banks in New Zealand, four banks – all Australian owned – account for more than 85 percent of bank assets. From one perspective we are well placed, compared to say, the Eurozone, where large banks operate across national boundaries as branches, under a single currency.
We have an effective home-host relationship with APRA and our four largest banks are all locally incorporated. Their size and dominance of our banking sector is an important consideration for our regulatory approach: they must be able to stand on their own in New Zealand. Other parts of the ecosystem include insurers, payment and settlement systems, capital markets and non-bank lending institutions.