QuickView: NZ-focused financial services company

Heartland New Zealand was created by merger in January 2011 and focuses on providing financial services to its core markets of SMEs, rural (ie farms, farm machinery and livestock) and households. It focuses on the less contested sectors to achieve a better risk/return balance. As a result, Heartland achieves an average interest margin of 4-5% compared to the larger banks of c 2%. It currently earns an ROE of 9% and targets 11% to 14%, which compares to a sector average of around 14% in 2013.