Capital requirements
We have published the current capital requirements for locally incorporated, registered banks in New Zealand, as well as the new requirements being phased in as a result of our Capital Review.
Capital requirements for banks in New Zealand
Disclosure requirements
The requirements for registered banks in New Zealand to publish six-monthly disclosure statements are set by Orders in Council, and the details are provided on the Disclosure requirements for banks in New Zealand page.
Disclosure requirements for banks in New Zealand
The remaining requirements that formed part of the former Banking Supervision Handbook are listed in the table below.
Letter describing the treatment of loans covered by the North Island Weather Events Loan Guarantee Scheme
On 28 July 2023, we wrote to banks to set out how they should treat loans with Crown indemnities under the North Island Weather Events Loan Guarantee Scheme. A copy of the letter is available here.
Regulatory treatment of loans in North Island Weather Events Loan Guarantee Scheme letter (PDF 225KB)
Accompanying documents for the outsourcing policy
Under the outsourcing policy (BS11) dated September 2017, we may issue a list of exempt functions and services (the 'exempt list') and a list of pre-approved functions and services.
Your bank may enter in to arrangements included in the exempt list without needing our non-objection, but you must still ensure such arrangements comply with the rest of the policy.
BS11 also allows us to issue application forms to banks.
| Document | Date of Issue |
|---|---|
| The exempt list (list of exempt functions and services) (PDF 858 KB) | September 2022 |
| List of pre-approved functions and services (PDF 55 KB) | September 2017 |
| Application form A for BS11 – exempt list (DOCX 815 KB) | September 2017 |
| Application form B for BS11 – List of pre-approved functions and services (DOCX 27 KB) | September 2017 |
| Application form C for BS11 – Relationship with subsidiary (DOCX 24 KB) | September 2017 |
| Application form D for BS11 – Robust back-up capability (DOCX 27 KB) | September 2017 |
| Application form E for BS11 – Temporary suspension (DOCX 815 KB) | September 2022 |
| Guidance for the preparation of a separation plan (PDF 267 KB) | September 2017 |
Outsourcing policy transitional
The 2006 version of the outsourcing policy has been superseded. However, any bank subject to the outsourcing policy as at 30 September 2017 must continue to meet any relevant requirements of the 2006 policy for a transitional period of six years from that date, as well as being subject to the current version of the policy listed in the main table above.
| Document | Document reference | Date of issue |
|---|---|---|
| Outsourcing policy BS11 2006 (PDF 45 KB) | BS11 | January 2006 |
Recent changes to the Banking Supervision Handbook
May 2021
We published revised versions of our banking handbook documents BS13 and BS13A that set out the liquidity policy applying to registered banks. These revisions came into force on 1 May 2021.
The changes introduced a new scale which modified the eligibility limits for residential mortgage-backed securities as liquid assets for the purpose of calculating mismatch ratios under the policy. The changes also specified the treatment of our Funding for Lending Programme and related assets for making calculations under the policy.
March 2021
In March 2021, we published revised versions of our working copies of the two Orders in Council, which set out the disclosure requirements for registered banks. These revisions incorporate changes made by Amendment Orders on 23 February 2021 and came into force on 31 March 2021.
The changes mean that a bank will no longer have to disclose all breaches of its conditions of registration over its most recent reporting period, only those that are most significant.
We have also updated document BS7: Registered bank disclosure regime – overview of Orders in Council and related documents. These changes are the final step in rolling out the new approach to the public disclosure of bank breaches, which came into effect from 1 January 2021.
Read more about public disclosure of bank breaches
About the bank prudential requirements
We encourage you and your advisers to make the bank prudential requirement documents (formerly called the Banking Supervision Handbook) your first point of reference on any matters relating to banking supervision.
Where the documents above do not provide the information you need, let us know. In general, the best person to contact will be the analyst responsible for your bank.
You can subscribe to a free email list to keep informed of updates to this page.
For all other queries about the bank prudential requirements, email [email protected]