Reserve Bank Bulletin released

The Reserve Bank today released the September 2011 edition of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin.

This edition showcases the Bank’s varied responsibilities, beginning by exploring an issue brought to the fore around the world by the financial crises of recent years: how best to handle a bank failure. The article explains the Open Bank Resolution (OBR) model the Bank has been developing as an option for use in the rare event of a bank failure.

The second article turns to the policy forum, New Zealand’s Macroeconomic Imbalances – Causes and Remedies, organised by The Treasury, the Reserve Bank and Victoria University. The forum looked at New Zealand’s macroeconomic imbalances, the country’s reliance on foreign debt and equity and its persistent relatively high real interest rates. It also considered whether policy options which could reduce these imbalances might improve our longer-term growth prospects.

Article three refocuses on another core Reserve Bank function: currency. This piece outlines recent trends in currency demand and counterfeiting figures. It also details the findings of a survey on the way New Zealanders use notes and coins.

The final two Bulletin articles include the Bank’s recent submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into housing affordability, focused on improving the responsiveness of residential construction to fluctuations in demand, and a summary of a workshop held by the Bank on improving New Zealand’s macroeconomic and financial statistics.