Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Simone Robbers, Assistant Governor / GM Governance, Strategy and Corporate Relations, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
While a new ‘normal’ is emerging in New Zealand after the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic continues to have significant and ongoing consequences across the globe. We are actively engaging with our Central Banking colleagues around the world to share policy advice and insights. As explained in this recent op-ed from Governor Adrian Orr, it is clear from our discussions that the COVID-19 health shock is impacting nations in similar ways, however, the economic and policy impacts differ greatly.
Here in Aotearoa, although we have successfully contained the virus, and many parts of the economy are back up and running, households and businesses face uncertain times and potential further disruption as the full economic impacts of the pandemic become evident.
We at the Reserve Bank, Te Pūtea Matua, need to keep working together with all of Government and industry, just like we did at the start of the pandemic, to respond to the challenges. We need to be prepared to manage our economic recovery well, while not losing sight of delivering for the long-term interests of all those in Aotearoa.
Alongside supporting the economy and all New Zealanders by providing liquidity to banks and coordinating monetary and fiscal policy settings, we have also continued to deliver on our commitments including:
Jointly working with The Treasury to see the new Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill introduced to Parliament
Publishing the Statement of Intent (SOI) for 2020-2023 and further embedding our Tāne Mahuta narrative
Agreeing to a new five-year Funding Agreement to ensure our long term commitments are met
Progressing our Te Ao Māori strategy through our economic research and proactive outreach to regulated entities, Government and Māori partners
Working closely with our fellow Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR) members to manage and co-ordinate regulatory work to enable the financial sector to focus on their customers.
During this time, some of our initiatives have received sharper focus as we look to respond to COVID-19 challenges. For example, the financial inclusion issues that are being faced by everyday New Zealanders. We congratulate the banking sector for their leadership in recently becoming the first living wage accredited industry in New Zealand. It is also a good time to deepen our collective understanding of climate change risk in the financial sector, and ensuring we are all taking a long term and sustainable approach to economic recovery and future resilience.
We are using this period to consider what is ahead and what steps we need to take so we can live up to our vision of being ‘A Great Team and Best Central Bank’ and deliver as kaitiaki (caretaker) against the commitments we made in our SOI.
For now, read our key progress on our mahi across various areas at the Reserve Bank. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to whakapā mai (reach out to us) by emailing rbnz-info@rbnz.govt.nz.
Noho ora mai,
Simone Robbers
Assistant Governor / GM Governance, Strategy and Corporate Relations
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
