Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand
22 September 2026
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board Chair Rodger Finlay has welcomed the findings of the Independent review of Covid-19 monetary policy released today by the Minister of Finance.
“On behalf of the Board, I welcome the findings of the independent review. The Governor and wider Reserve Bank team will carefully consider the review report and use its insights to help inform future practice,” Mr Finlay said.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr Anna Breman said the review’s findings would be carefully analysed by officials.
“We will consider the findings of the report, and its insights will contribute to our thinking,” Dr Breman said.
“I am proud to lead an institution that learns from the past in order to benefit New Zealanders.”
The independent review examines decisions made during the three years from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. Its findings follow the Reserve Bank’s 2022 five-yearly Review and Assessment of the Formulation and Implementation of Monetary Policy (RAFIMP) which considers the period from 2017 to 2022.
Dr Breman said the independent review would help inform future work.
“The Reserve Bank has already undertaken a number of actions in response to lessons from the 2020-2022 period, as detailed in a Bulletin article published in September 2025. The independent review offers additional insights that we will carefully consider alongside this work. Its findings could help inform improvements across the Bank, including initiatives underway to strengthen our modelling infrastructure and work in support of our 2028 advice on the Monetary Policy Committee Remit.”