Reserve Bank (RBNZ) governor Christian Hawkesby. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
- Reserve Bank governor "can't recall" all details from Willis meeting.
- The Finance Minister met with RBNZ leaders in the days leading up to former governor Adrian Orr's departure.
- The RBNZ is reviewing controversial bank capital requirements.
The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) governor Christian Hawkesby can't remember all the details of a meeting with the Finance Minister in the days leading up to the departure of former governor Adrian Orr.
The previous governor, along with Hawkesby - who was then deputy - and board chair Neil Quigley, met Nicola Willis on 24 February, nine days before Orr's sudden departure.
At Thursday's Finance and Expenditure Committee meeting, Hawkesby said the controversial bank capital requirements were discussed at the meeting - at the request of Willis.
He noted it was "not unusual" for government ministers to request briefings.
The new details have emerged just as the RBNZ launches a review into bank capital requirements, which has drawn criticism from banks for being too onerous.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo: Reece Baker
When pressed by Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds on whether Willis personally asked for a review into capital settings, Hawkesby was vague.
"I can't recall all the details of the meeting and it's not something that I sort of generally get into," Hawkesby said. "The decision to do a capital review was the Reserve Bank's - it was our decision."
On Wednesday, during a press conference after the release of the RBNZ's latest Financial Stability Report, Hawkesby said the central bank was not committed to any one outcome from the review.
The RBNZ released the terms of reference of its review, which would draw on the Commerce Commission's banking report, which in part blamed the capital requirements for limiting competition.
At the time, the central bank rejected the Commission's view, which were defended by former governor Orr.
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