Just like in Australia where head of Commonwealth bank Sir Ralph Norris has been criticized for his very heavy pay package, there has been a public outcry over the packages of CEOs in New Zealand.

But the severity of the outcry is much lesser in New Zealand than in Australia and this has happened despite the revelations made by Banking Ombudsman that showed there were record numbers of complaints against the pay packages.

These complaints were against the kind of compensation that was given to Westpac New Zealand boss George Frazis, which is a public listed company. Most of these complaints have come from Bank workers' union Finsec. It has said that $5.59 million pay package that is being given to George is 'unethical' and more so when the company is facing the worst of financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bill English has asked Westpac for an explanation asking it why so much of pay is being paid while the company is undergoing such a tough environment. He, however, said that the government is not going to consider putting caps on the salaries of bank executives.