WELLINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government is introducing measures to ensure the Reserve Bank places greater importance on competition in the banking sector, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said on Monday.

"The change will enable the New Zealand-owned bank to more vigorously compete against the big four Australian-owned banks," Willis said, adding there will be increased investment in innovation, more competition between the banks and better service for some of the businesses and people that are poorly served by existing arrangements.

The government is going to provide the state-owned Kiwibank with access to more capital. "The more capital Kiwibank has, the more it can compete, and the greater the likelihood of interest rates coming down for all bank customers," Willis said.

A potential investment of up to 500 million NZ dollars (292.1 million U.S. dollars) in the bank will be made by New Zealand KiwiSaver funds, investment institutions and professional investor groups, she said. "If a private placement occurs, this would be an asset capitalization, not an asset sale, as all funds raised would be for Kiwibank's future business growth." Enditem

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