National Party leader John Key says there have been no direct discussions with Australia's Macquarie Bank about his party's education policy.
The National Party has proposed that private companies should be able to build and own schools as part of its education policy. Companies would then lease the schools back to the state.
Macquarie Bank is understood to be interested in National's proposal to allow the private sector to build and own state schools.
Key says he has talked with the bank's executive director Jim McClay but he says there have been no discussions with anyone at Macquarie bank about the policy.
He says he may have met bankers from Macquarie at certain events, such as the New Zealand Infrastructure Council, but there have been no detailed discussions with any particular provider.
There are just over a 100 private schools in New Zealand, out of the total education budget of about $9 billion they get $40 million to subsidise their fees.
The Labour government has criticised the privatisation policy and says it is unmanageable.
