Responsible Business Policy

As a purpose-led organisation and certified B Corp, our Responsible Business Policy sets out how we'll manage our relationships with businesses in sectors identified as having higher environmental, social or governance (ESG) risks. This policy guides our decision-making processes relating to those sectors.

What's important about the policy

This policy is part of our commitment to making Kiwi better off. We will not enter business relationships with entities that are directly involved in or that earn most of their business revenue from an excluded sector. People who work for these businesses can still bank with us.

We want to support businesses operating in sensitive sectors to mitigate the relevant risks in their sector. We will work with businesses in these sectors to assess how they’re mitigating the risks before we proceed.

Excluded & sensitive sectors

Gambling

Excluded sectors

Casino operation – businesses with a casino.

Sensitive sectors

Class 3 and 4 gambling venues and operators (gaming machine operators and higher stakes lotteries and sweepstakes).

Fossil fuel

Excluded sectors

Production, manufacturing and extraction of coal, oil and natural gas.

Sensitive sectors

Wholesalers, distributors and retailers of petrol and diesel.

Defence

Excluded sectors

Manufacturers, distributors and retailers of:

  • Military grade weapons
  • Weapons prohibited by Customs Import Prohibition (Offensive Weapons) Order 2021
  • Cluster munitions
  • Nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices
  • Anti-personnel mines and landmines
  • Depleted uranium weapons
  • Chemical and biological weapons
  • Componentry intended for use in military grade weapons or any weapon described above.

Sensitive sectors

Designing, building, testing and servicing infrastructure or equipment for any Defence Excluded Sectors.

Non-medicinal & recreational drugs

Excluded sectors

Manufacturers and producers of synthetic drugs including:

  • Cannabinoids and cathinones
  • Psychoactive herbal products
  • Psilocybin mushrooms and spores
  • Hallucinogenic substances including kratom.

Predatory lending

Excluded sectors

Lenders offering high-interest rate loans of more than 50% p.a.

Tobacco

Excluded sectors

  • Growing and production of tobacco
  • Manufacture of tobacco products
  • Manufacture or production of e-cigarettes or vaping devices.

Sensitive sectors

  • Wholesalers, distributors or retailers of tobacco or tobacco products
  • Wholesalers, distributors or retailers of e-cigarettes or vaping products.

Private prisons

Sensitive sectors

  • Private prison operations
  • Private correctional facilities operations.

Adult entertainment

Sensitive sectors

  • Strip clubs
  • Brothels
  • Filming, production, or publishing of pornographic material.

Alcohol

Sensitive sectors

Wholesalers, distributors, or retailers who generate their revenue from the sale of alcohol through an ‘off-licence’.

Mining

Sensitive sectors

  • Metal ore mining
  • Rare earth mining
  • Sand and gravel mining.

Horticulture (including viticulture) Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Employers

Sensitive sectors

Fruit orchards and grapevine cultivation operations that engage workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

Recognising the complexity and evolving nature of banking, we aim to avoid unintended negative consequences from our decisions. Therefore, we regularly review our Responsible Business Policy to align with the environment that we operate in. We have discretion to make exceptions to this policy and processes for handling uncertainty and case-by-case decision making

Download the Responsible Business Policy.