Foreign reserves
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act enables the Reserve Bank to intervene in the foreign exchange market and requires the Reserve Bank to hold foreign exchange reserves to provide the capacity to intervene.
Balance Sheet Review
13 July 2007
In a news release the Reserve Bank announced changes to its financing and management of New Zealand's foreign currency reserves. The Reserve Bank will now hold some portion of foreign reserves on an unhedged basis - an "open FX" position. This means that part of the foreign reserves portfolio will be funded in New Zealand dollars rather than foreign currencies.
More information on the changes is detailed in a Q & A. Other related documents on the review are a letter (PDF 45KB) to the Minister of Finance and a Treasury Report (PDF 64KB).
Foreign exchange intervention and the level
of reserves – Ministerial advice etc.
A selection of briefing
materials relating to the Government's recent decision to increase foreign
reserves and to provide the Reserve Bank with the capacity to use foreign
exchange intervention as an additional monetary policy tool.
Foreign reserve risk management
Background
documents on foreign reserve risk management.
About Foreign Reserves
Briefing on the
Reserve Bank
Prepared to brief the Government on the role and functions
of the Reserve Bank. Our foreign reserves management function is located in the
Functions of the Reserve Bank section.
External finance statistical
tables
Data providing information on New Zealand's external position,
including international reserves and foreign currency liquidity, selected
account positions at the IMF and the liabilities owed by New Zealand residents
to non-residents arising from the acquisition of foreign financial resources
and/or goods and services.
Managing
New Zealand's foreign reserves (PDF
96KB)
Published in the Reserve Bank Bulletin,
December 2002.
How we balance the factors involved in foreign reserves
management and the framework we use to manage the risks associated with our
foreign reserves operation.
The rationale for holding foreign currency reserves (PDF 47KB)
Published in the Reserve Bank Bulletin, December 1998.
Discusses the motivation for New Zealand holding a reserve of foreign currency assets.