16 May 2024 – The Reserve Bank is consulting on policy proposals for new core prudential standards to be made under the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA).
Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby says the standards set the rules that deposit takers will be licensed against under the DTA.
“Using the Proportionality Framework as a guide, we have thought carefully about creating suitable requirements for the different sizes and characteristics of financial institutions, from large banks through to smaller non-bank deposit takers,” Mr Hawkesby says.
The DTA strengthens New Zealand’s financial system through new regulatory powers and a new suite of standards applying to banks and non-bank deposit takers (NBDTs), and the introduction of the DCS. These features are complementary, and will provide New Zealanders with a safe and sound financial system, and one they can trust.
“The proposed core standards cover four important components of the regulatory regime: capital, liquidity, disclosure, and DCS related requirements. These ensure deposit takers can absorb losses, meet payments when they are due, provide timely prudential disclosures to the market, and meet data and disclosure requirements for DCS.”
Director of Prudential Policy Kate Le Quesne says in developing the standards, we have captured what is working well under the existing prudential rulebook and what is a good fit to retain under the new legislative framework.
“We want the transition to the new regime to be efficient for both industry and the Reserve Bank,” Ms Le Quesne says.
“We are very grateful for the time and thought that deposit takers have devoted to our policy development already. With the consultation now open, we are looking forward to engaging with deposit takers in our upcoming workshops and discussing their feedback.”
Consultation materials can be found at https://consultations.rbnz.govt.nz. Consultation is open until 26 July.
Background notes
The four core standards, and a summary of each, are:
Capital – covers the minimum capital requirements for deposit takers in New Zealand. It also includes minimum standards of safety and soundness from the time each deposit taker receives a licence, while mitigating adverse effects of risks to the stability of the financial system. These minimum requirements help to make sure that the owners of a deposit taker are the first to bear losses, not depositors or other creditors. They also help make sure that the owners have a meaningful stake in the business, because the more owners have to lose the greater their incentive to manage risks prudently.
Liquidity – sets out liquidity requirements to help ensure that deposit takers can provide depositors, and others they need to pay, with their money when they want or need it or when it comes due. It requires deposit takers to carefully monitor and manage their ability to make payments to others, by requiring them to have minimum amounts of cash and other assets that can be sold quickly at a reliable price, to meet financial obligations such as paying bills and deposit withdrawals.
Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) – to ensure effective disclosure of the DCS by deposit takers to their depositors and to create the single depositor view (SDV) file for the purpose of identifying depositor entitlements in the event of any deposit taker failure. DCS disclosure requirements:
build and maintain public awareness of the DCS,
provide the public with clear information on coverage under the DCS, and
prevent the promotion of vague or misleading information about the DCS that may adversely affect depositors’ decisions.
Disclosure – the proposed Disclosure Standard covers what information must be made publicly available by deposit takers, and how and when it must be made publicly available. This Standard will replace the existing prudential disclosure requirements for banks, branches of overseas incorporated banks, and NBDTs. Disclosure requirements are our main regulatory tool to make private information about a deposit taker publicly available. Disclosure contributes to financial stability through enabling market participants to scrutinise a deposit taker’s business and then to exert market discipline on them.
In August/September 2024, following this consultation on core standards, the Reserve Bank will consult on the non-core standards which cover a range of topics – see our website for details: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=766477e11c&e=f3c68946f8
