RBNZ Announces COVID-19 Relief Measures for Financial Institutions
In the context of the disruption caused by COVID-19, RBNZ has announced regulatory relief measures to support the provision of credit and market functioning. Key among them is the RBNZ decision to delay the start date of the increased capital requirements for banks by 12 months, to July 01, 2021. RBNZ expects that this step will enable banks to provide an additional AUD 47 billion of credit. Should conditions warrant it next year, RBNZ will consider whether further delays are necessary. RBNZ also stated that it has a number of additional tools to provide additional liquidity and support to market functioning, should these be required in the future.
RBNZ is postponing the publication of exposure drafts of the revised policy documents related to the increased capital requirements. These drafts were planned to be published on April 01, 2020. Additionally, RBNZ will be extending the transition period for its revised outsourcing policy by 12 months. Affected banks will now need to be fully compliant with the new requirements by October 01, 2023. Finally, RBNZ will defer external-facing work on the following regulatory initiatives, for an initial period of six months:
- Review of the bank liquidity thematic review (and subsequent review of the liquidity policy)
- Review of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010
- Standard terms for Residential Mortgage Obligations
- Cyber resilience guidelines for all regulated entities
- Revisions to banks’ disclosure of regulatory breaches
- Review of the stress-testing framework and planned bank stress tests
- Revising the process for approving banks’ internal capital adequacy models for credit risk
Related Links
- Press Release, March 18, 2020
- Press Release, March 16, 2020
- Press Release, March 09, 2020
- Overview of Capital Adequacy Framework
Keywords: Asia Pacific, New Zealand, Banking, Insurance, Capital Requirements, COVID-19, Liquidity Requirements, Stress Testing, Credit Risk, Operational Risk, RBNZ
Featured Experts
María Cañamero
Skilled market researcher; growth strategist; successful go-to-market campaign developer
Nicolas Degruson
Works with financial institutions, regulatory experts, business analysts, product managers, and software engineers to drive regulatory solutions across the globe.
Emil Lopez
Credit risk modeling advisor; IFRS 9 researcher; data quality and risk reporting manager
Previous Article
IAIS Publishes Global Insurance Market Report for 2019Related Articles
EBA Launches Stress Tests for Banks, Issues Other Updates
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched the 2023 European Union (EU)-wide stress test, published annual reports on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and high earners with data as of December 2021.
EBA Proposes Standards for IRRBB Reporting Under Basel Framework
The European Banking Authority (EBA) proposed implementing technical standards on the interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB) reporting requirements, with the comment period ending on May 02, 2023.
FED Issues Further Details on Pilot Climate Scenario Analysis Exercise
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FED) set out details of the pilot climate scenario analysis exercise to be conducted among the six largest U.S. bank holding companies.
US Agencies Issue Several Regulatory and Reporting Updates
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FED) adopted the final rule on Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act.
ECB Issues Multiple Reports and Regulatory Updates for Banks
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an updated list of supervised entities, a report on the supervision of less significant institutions (LSIs), a statement on macro-prudential policy.
HKMA Keeps List of D-SIBs Unchanged, Makes Other Announcements
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a circular on the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures, an update on the status of transition to new interest rate benchmarks.
EU Issues FAQs on Taxonomy Regulation, Rules Under CRD, FICOD and SFDR
The European Commission (EC) adopted the standards addressing supervisory reporting of risk concentrations and intra-group transactions, benchmarking of internal approaches, and authorization of credit institutions.
CBIRC Revises Measures on Corporate Governance Supervision
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) issued rules to manage the risk of off-balance sheet business of commercial banks and rules on corporate governance of financial institutions.
HKMA Publications Address Sustainability Issues in Financial Sector
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) made announcements to address sustainability issues in the financial sector.
EBA Updates Address Basel and NPL Requirements for Banks
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published regulatory standards on identification of a group of connected clients (GCC) as well as updated the lists of identified financial conglomerates.
