Far bigger debt buffer to become permanent

The government is raising the so-called ‘liquidity buffer’ to $15 billion. (Image: Getty images)

Wed, 15 Dec 2021

The government will entrench the much higher level of cash and near-cash debt that it has held through the covid-19 pandemic, raising the so-called ‘liquidity buffer’ to $15 billion.That compares to a historic buffer of “at least” $2b.A statement from the Treasury’s New Zealand Debt Management (NZDM) office says ramping up the buffer to more than $15b “enabled the government to support the economy through the peak of the crisis and was critical”.However, the increase had been achieved during a period of...

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