RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard to Step Down This Year

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor, Alan Bollard, has announced that he will be stepping down as Governor when his current term ends on the 25th of September this year.  Dr Bollard was appointed in September 2002, and is currently in his second five-year term.  The Chair of the Reserve Bank Board, Dr Arthur Grimes, noted that the Board will be searching in New Zealand and abroad to identify a successor to Dr Bollard.  The Governor of the Reserve Bank is appointed by the Minister of Finance on the recommendation of the Board.  

Speculation on potential candidates to replace Dr Bollard include, internally; Deputy Governor and Head of Financial Stability, Grant Spencer; Assistant Governor and Head of Economics, Dr John McDermott.  Possible external candidates include: Adrian Orr, a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, and current Chief Executive of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund; Rod Carr, a former Deputy Governor and acting Governor of the RBNZ, currently Vice Chancellor of Canterbury University; Murray Sherwin, also a former Deputy Governor of the RBNZ, and currently Chair of the Productivity Commission.

Dr Bollard said he will remain fully focused during his remaining time on the job on the "serious economic and financial challenges facing New Zealand".  Bollard said: "As I noted last week, the Bank is ready to respond to ongoing developments overseas, especially in Europe, the US and China, as well as domestically, particularly the Canterbury earthquakes.  In addition, the Bank's expanded prudential regulatory responsibilities mean we will continue to introduce new prudential requirements this year, especially in the insurance and non-bank sectors."

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