NZ banking capital adequacy proposals may face choppy trans-Tasman seas

The banking capital “crumple zone” is in focus. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 04 Sep 2025

New proposals to reset New Zealand’s banking capital adequacy requirements appear to be gaining sector support, but may still encounter choppy trans-Tasman waters, experts say.“The new proposals look less like a retreat from resilience [by Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ)] and more like a recalibration,” Martien Lubberink, a banking specialist at Victoria University of Wellington, said.The RBNZ has begun consulting on options to adjust capital requirements for banks in relation to capital adequacy decisions made in 2019, based on the...

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