Reserve Bank of New Zealand allows all licensed deposit takers to call themselves banks under Deposit Takers Act

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has decided that all deposit takers licensed under the Deposit Takers Act 2023 will be able to use the restricted terms bank, banker and banking when the regime comes fully into force on 1 December 2028. The change follows the Reserve Bank’s 2025 public consultation and extends use of those terms beyond current registered banks to include entities now licensed as non-bank deposit takers. Under the current Banking Prudential Supervision Act 1989, only registered banks, including branches of overseas banks, may use the restricted words. Under the new regime, licensed deposit takers that were formerly non-bank deposit takers will be able to rebrand as banks. Overseas banks without a physical presence in New Zealand may continue to use restricted words for limited wholesale activities if they meet the authorisation conditions, while financial service providers outside the Reserve Bank’s prudential perimeter will remain unable to use them. The Reserve Bank linked the broader permission to the Deposit Takers Act’s depositor compensation scheme, new supervision powers, and a framework for managing and resolving a deposit taker in financial distress, alongside greater powers to monitor stability and intervene where depositor funds or the financial system are at risk.