Banks comfortably passed RBNZ's stress tests

RBNZ tested banks' solvency and liquidity under stress. (Image: Getty)

Wed, 08 Dec 2021

The five largest banks still had more than double the current regulatory minimum amount of capital after undergoing the Reserve Bank's latest solvency stress tests.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) described the scenario it chose as a one-in-50 to a one-in-75 year event which saw a hypothetical global resurgence in covid-19, a jump in the unemployment rate to 11.8% and a 39% fall in house prices over a four-year period.Commercial property prices fall an even greater 45%.The scenario also included the economy contracting 8% in the first...

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