WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank said on Monday it would undertake an evidence-based review of its capital regime, assessing it against the settings in other countries in a bid to boost competition in the banking sector.
“We have heard the claims that our bank capital regime is unreasonably conservative, and that it is undermining competition and growth in the New Zealand economy,” Reserve Bank of New Zealand Acting Governor Christian Hawkesby told a parliamentary committee.
“We think that some of those claims are incorrect, but most of the claims can be tested empirically.”
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments