New Zealand Finance Firms See Deposit Surge as New Insurance Scheme Levels the Field

Wellington, 6 May 2026 – New Zealand finance companies are attracting a sharp rise in deposits, signalling a shift in saver behaviour after the country’s new deposit insurance framework helped narrow the confidence gap between banks and non-bank deposit takers.

Deposits with finance companies have increased 30% since the beginning of 2025, according to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest Financial Stability Report. That pace has outstripped deposit growth at the country’s four largest banks, suggesting that some savers have moved funds from traditional banks into finance companies in search of better returns and broader options.