Council begins mortgage, Māori Bank talks

The question of whether or not Māori should form their own bank has been put back on the table.

According to New Zealand Māori Council spokesperson Matthew Tukaki, the last time the prospect was raised dates back in 2002. Now, working group Housing and Housing Affordability is in talks for the possibility of a Māori bank – as it works on identifying the barriers and opportunities of home buying for Māori.

The council mentioned 2016 data from Statistic NZ, which shows that, between 1986 and 2013, the proportion of Māori living in owned homes dropped by 20%. In 2016, only 28% of Māori adults reportedly owned a house compared with 57% of other New Zealand adults. The proportion of renting in the private sector, meanwhile, sector has reportedly risen from 1986 for Māori from 41% to a whopping 77%.

“Governments announce policies to support Māori home ownership but in order to do this, we need to take a look at the root causes that prohibit us – the first is access to credit and finance,” Tukaki explained. “That means taking a cold hard look at the way the major banks are operating as well as the income to mortgage ratios.

“The Reserve Bank decision to ease the loan to value ratio (LVR) doesn’t answer the question of Māori and equity of access,” he added.

Tukaki also highlighted the amount of Māori land, where people can apply for mortgages, but banks appearing more risk-averse.

“Māori small business not growing to scale or capacity because of the lack of funding – so it’s actually less about a bank and more about why this call?” he noted.