There's some suggestion the government of New Zealand may be seeking a partial float of the local subsidiaries of Australian-headquartered banks.
The New Zealand Herald, which in turn quoted TVNZ News, reported the finance minister Michael Cullen as saying a partial float of Australian bank shares on the New Zealand stock market may be a condition of the wholesale funding guarantee for banks Treasury and Reserve Bank officials are drafting.
"Clearly that should be considered carefully as we move towards finalising any details of this scheme," Cullen told TVNZ News.
As the original TVNZ item is not available it might have been Cullen batting away a question from the interviewer rather than a measured point about banking policy.
ANZ has mooted the merit of floating its New Zealand subsidiary (which is the dominant bank in the country).