saved more in their bank accounts in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. A study of over half a million ASB customers’ accounts show that their cash balances are now 60 per cent higher than they were in March last year, when the country first went into lockdown.
However, there is still a significant portion of the bank’s customers are “just coping” with insufficient funds to draw on in an emergency. According to the study, 40 per cent of the account holders had less than $1000 in their rainy day funds, with 39 per cent appeared to be living payday to payday. The proportion of customers who were said to be “just coping” amounted to 49 per cent of the overall sample, although the study did not consider funds set aside in KiwiSaver, which can be accessed in the case of an emergency.
“At a national level, we are seeing an improvement in financial wellbeing,” ASB chief executive, Vittoria Shortt, said. Nevertheless, she added that “while some New Zealanders are now more financially resilient, COVID’s ongoing economic impact means a significant number continue to do it tough.”
According to the Auckland-based financial service provider, the boost in savings were sourced by the significant decline in expenses over the recent past as many households limited their spending to just the essentials during lockdown. Nevertheless, the bank balance of an average Auckland ASB customer grew by just more than 5 per cent suggesting that many were unable to save much at all.
