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About the New Zealand financial system

Non-bank lending institutions

Find out about non-bank lending institutions (NBLIs) - non-bank deposit-taking institutions (NBDTs) and non-deposit-taking finance companies.

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Non-bank lending institutions (NBLIs) include non-bank deposit-taking institutions (NBDTs) and non-deposit-taking finance companies. We regulate NBDTs, but we don't regulate or supervise non-deposit-taking finance companies.

NBLIs account for just under 3% of intermediated credit, mainly focusing on the business and consumer sectors (figure 8).

Figure 8: Non-bank lending institutions' lending by sector (March years)

Figure 8: NBLI lending by sector (March years)
Note: Excludes assets of deposit-taking finance companies in receivership or moratorium. In the period shown on the chart, several large NBLIs left the sector and became banks. Source: RBNZ Non-bank Deposit Taker Prudential Return (NBDTPR) RBNZ SSR

About non-bank deposit takers

NBDTs offer debt securities to the public (as defined in the Securities Act 1978) and borrow and lend money or provide financial services, or both.

NBDTs include credit unions, building societies and finance companies. They exclude registered banks, managed investment schemes and organisations that raise funds from related parties or from corporate or wholesale sources.

There are 18 licensed NBDTs operating in New Zealand. You can see who they are in our public register of licensed NBDTs.

Public register of licensed NBDTs

As at March 2022, the total assets of NBDTs is $2.98 billion. Of this, $1.28 billion is in building societies and $1.11 billion is in credit unions.

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New Zealand financial system

An overview of New Zealand's financial system which includes banks, non-bank lenders, licensed insurers and financial market infrastructures.

The banking sector

New Zealand currently has 27 registered banks, with four large Australian-owned banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac) responsible for 85% of bank lending. The five New Zealand-owned banks account for 9% of bank lending.

Financial market infrastructure

Financial market infrastructures provide channels for the clearing, settling or recording of payments, securities, derivatives or other financial transactions.

Insurance sector

Around 90 licensed insurers currently operate in New Zealand. They account for about $32 billion in assets or 13% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).