WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand has opened an investigation to determine if commitments by lenders under the Net-Zero Banking Alliance could breach anti-cartel regulations, the country’s competition watchdog said.
The Commerce Commission said in an email on Friday that it had opened an investigation to determine whether the adoption and alleged alignment of net-zero strategies and targets by banks could breach section 30 of New Zealand’s Commerce Act.
Section 30 prohibits contracts, arrangements, understandings or covenants containing cartel provisions.
“We are continuing to obtain information from relevant parties to determine whether there is conduct that breaches the Act,” the statement said.
Farm lobbying group Federate Farmers in December asked the Commerce Commission to look at whether the banks’ commitment to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance had resulted in anti-competitive behaviour.
An email sent by Federated Farmers to the head of the Commerce Commission said the alliance “risks creating co-ordinated lending practices that disadvantage high-emission sectors such as agriculture, transport and mining.”
Along with government-owned Kiwibank, New Zealand’s banking system is dominated by four large Australian banks: Westpac Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia-owned ASB Bank, National Australia Bank’s Bank of New Zealand and ANZ Group.
New Zealand’s Banking Association and the five banks did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the Commerce Commission probe.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Jamie Freed)
