Finance Minister Robertson names expert panel for Reserve Bank Act review

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has appointed the expert panel for the Reserve Bank Act review, naming Suzanne Snively as chair.

Snively, who is Transparency International New Zealand chair, will be joined by Malcolm Edey and Girol Karacaoglu, Robertson said in a statement. The first meetings are planned for this month, with further meetings in early 2018.

Snively is a former Reserve Bank director and serves on a number of boards. Edey is a consulting economist and academic, lecturing in economic policy, banking and finance at the University of Sydney. Prior to retiring last year, he was assistant governor (financial system) of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and assistant governor (economic) prior to that. Karacaoglu is the head of the school of government at Victoria University of Wellington with a focus on research in public policy,

"This is a high-calibre panel with extensive experience in banking, finance, economics, policy development and governance. Their input will be invaluable for the Reserve Bank Act review," said Robertson.

The review is being undertaken in two phases. The first phase, led by Treasury with technical advice from the central bank, will recommend changes to the act, including maximizing employment alongside the bank's price stability framework. It will also provide for a committee decision-making model for monetary policy decisions and consider whether the role of the central bank's board needs to change as a result.

The independent expert advisory panel will provide input and support for the review. It will also be expected to test Treasury's findings. The panel will produce its own report of its views on the Treasury's conclusions and recommendations to the Minister of Finance on the first phase of the review, Robertson said.

In the second phase, the Reserve Bank and Treasury will jointly develop a list of areas where "further investigations of the bank's activities may be desirable." The panel will assist in the development of this list. The second phase will also incorporate the review of the macro-prudential framework that was already scheduled for 2018, according to Robertson.

The membership of the panel for taking forward policy work for phase two, as well as their terms of engagement, will be determined once the list of phase 2 issues has been scoped, said Robertson.

(BusinessDesk)