WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand is set to appoint a woman to head its central bank for the first time and could announce the decision as early as Wednesday, Bloomberg News said in a report, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.
The report did not identify the new governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) but said it could be a foreigner.
New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ office said they would not comment on the report. The RBNZ declined to comment.
The new governor will not take charge by the next interest rate decision on October 8, with their term expected to start toward the end of the year, Bloomberg News said in its report.
The appointment of a woman from overseas is unexpected,with speculation centering on Orr’s deputy and interim governorChristian Hawkesby and Auckland economics professor PrasannaGai, who sits on the Monetary Policy Committee as an externalmember, the report added.
Hawkesby has been in the top role at the RBNZ since March following the surprise resignation of the former governor Adrian Orr. The government had appointed him for a six-month period while the role was advertised.
Orr, who had a reputation as a maverick policymaker and sometimes wrong-footed financial markets with policy decisions, quit over a dispute with the government about punishing cuts to the central bank’s budget. Orr also clashed repeatedly with Willis.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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