RBNZ asks banks to stress test dairy loans, confident they can weather downturn

RBNZ asks banks to stress test dairy loans, confident they can weather downturn
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Nov. 11 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's major lenders are able to cope with a protracted downturn in the dairy sector, which the Reserve Bank estimates could cause credit losses of as much as 18 percent over a four-year period. The central bank has requested the five biggest lenders to the dairy sector - ASB Bank, ANZ Bank New Zealand, Bank of New Zealand, Westpac New Zealand and Rabobank New Zealand - to stress test their portfolios, which the Reserve Bank sees as a growing risk to the health of the nation's financial stabi...