BNZ senior management were in Dunedin yesterday to open the George St partners business centre, the fourth in the country and second in the South Island, following an 18-week refurbishment. Ninety guests attending the opening last night.
Auckland-based BNZ director Anthony Healy said, despite almost two years of recession, the BNZ saw the business centres and refurbishments for customers as a "core value" to increase services and availability of specialist staff.
"In provincial areas some businesses may not have access to offices. Often they are travelling around the country a lot more," Mr Healy said.
The BNZ is investing more than $30 million over three years in 30 business centres, including Dunedin's and one to be opened in Queenstown, and is spending more than $60 million on refurbishing 100 of its 180 bank outlets around the country.
Clients will be able to use any of the 30 business centres around the country, using a pass key, which can be booked and used free of charge. The centres include meeting rooms, a board room, wireless internet and video-conferencing facilities for business meetings, without the BNZ being involved.
Mr Healy said the BNZ offered more lending nationally than any other bank last year; accounting for 58% of lending.
The recession had seen banks' reputations "tested" and Mr Healy said banks' clients had "long memories" of which banks had scaled back lending during the recession.
While Otago reflected strong lending growth of 8% during 2009, increasing by $93 million to almost $1.1 billion, he said business growth had since shrunk by 1% to 2%, because of a lack of demand for credit.
While acknowledging banks in general were being criticised for higher interest rates to borrowers, Mr Healy said bank borrowing rates from offshore had increased by 1% to as much as 2.4% since the global credit crisis, which was reflected in the largely unchanged net margins of banks.
BNZ managing partner for Otago, Clark Taylor, said the business centres were designed to act as a "local hub" for clients to conduct their business when away from their own offices.
The Dunedin business centre has 30 specialists across business and agribusiness, wealth management, plant and equipment finance, cashflow financing solutions, transactional payments, international trade and business insurance.
