Westpac's New Zealand boss earned more than $3 million in 2013 despite taking a pay cut.

Government-owned Kiwibank is next in the gun for the group targeting banks in a lawsuit alleging they're charging unfair fees.

The Reserve Bank says it's too early to draw conclusions on the impact of its restrictions on low equity home loans - although it may have 'tweaked' behaviour.

BNZ boss Andrew Thorburn has made more than $400,000 from selling shares in the bank's parent company National Australia Bank (NAB).

NZ's median house price rose 1.9 per cent to a record in October, although sale volumes were dented as Reserve Bank lending restrictions began to bite.

The total value of home loans approved dropped below $1 billion in the last week of October - the first time since July.

New Zealand's big four banks collectively made more than $3.5 billion of profit in the last year in another record year for the sector.

Westpac chief executive Peter Clare says the bank's rivals have been left with a "hangover" after pushing forward with mortgage pre-approvals.

The Reserve Bank's restrictions on low-deposit mortgage lending have yet to dent expectations that house prices will rise.

The big four Australian banks made more than A$27 billion (NZT $31b) in profits in the past year, making Australasia's banking sector one of the world's most successful.

Five years after the global financial crisis, risk aversion remains a dominant feature of the financial markets.

Prime Minister John Key says Sir Douglas Graham might have given up his knighthood had the Government not told him he didn't have to.