Improve the quality, efficiency, and usefulness of banking sector data.
We have found that aggregated data does not give visibility of the information that lies underneath that would enable further analysis and re-use of the data.
Loan-level data collection
We are working with banks to improve the quality, detail and richness of the data we collect about lending in New Zealand.
Improving our data collection
We are launching a loan-level data (LLD) collection as part of our data and information strategy. The aim of LLD is to set up a new, highly detailed data collection of anonymised data on individual loans, which will improve our analytical capability and data-driven decision-making.
LLD is a multi-year project, with exploratory collections underway from September 2023. The project's first phase will explore the feasibility of collecting and interpreting data at a highly detailed level.
What is loan-level data?
Loan-level data is information collected by banks for the purpose of authorising, issuing and managing each individual loan. An anonymised selection of this information will be securely shared with us.
In this collection, we will not collect information that will directly identify individuals, such as names or account numbers.
Examples of data we are exploring include:
Why are we doing this?
We collect and manage data from regulated entities, including banks and other financial institutions, as part of our statutory functions and to maintain oversight of the financial sector. High-quality data is critical to inform our policy decisions, identify risks, and take action as needed.
Our data collections
Our current data collections use a wide range of high-level aggregated financial reports, including bank lending data. These reporting templates are available on our website:
See our current data collections
These figures give insights into the financial sector's health. We publish detailed financial system statistics on our website and data on individual institutions in our Bank Financial Strength Dashboard. However, aggregated data does not give enough detail to allow us to identify emerging risks and monitor irregular events.
For example, with LLD we may be better able to identify emerging financial risks in regions affected by a natural disaster, such as floods. LLD would also better identify sectors affected by specific events or trends, such as COVID-19, which affected some borrowers' ability to service loans. These risks may not be obvious when considering data at an aggregated level.
Bank Financial Strength Dashboard
Key benefits
Collecting anonymised loan-by-loan level data will:
Enable us to respond to issues that affect individual regulated entities and the financial system.
This includes the impact of economic, pandemic, and natural shocks; and climatic events.
Allow a deeper understanding of monetary policy and financial stability risks and underlying causes.
This will improve our policy decisions and provide a greater understanding of the financial sector for us and for those who use the analysis and statistics we produce.
Improving data supports our objectives
We are a guardian or kaitiaki of the financial system of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our main objectives are:
- The economic objective of achieving and maintaining stability in the general level of prices over the medium term.
- The financial stability objective of protecting and promoting the stability of New Zealand’s financial system.
We pursue these objectives and perform our statutory functions with the purpose of promoting the prosperity and well-being of New Zealanders and contributing to a sustainable and productive economy. This gives the public confidence in our financial system and enables New Zealanders to participate in the New Zealand economy.
Our functions include acting as prudential regulator and supervisor of banks and other financial institutions, formulating and implementing monetary policy, and monitoring the financial system.
To fulfil our functions, we are expected to collect, guard, and wisely use financial sector data to identify issues early, take action and target our resources to areas of potential highest risk.
Anonymised loan-by-loan data will support a deeper understanding and analysis of the financial system to achieve our objectives. It also aligns our data collections with international best practice and aims to remove some of the regulatory burden on reporting entities.
Who will be involved?
We are working in partnership with banks to explore creating an anonymised loan-by-loan level data collection. We will make changes to our processes and systems to support this collection, and changes will also be needed at the banks that will supply us with this data.
We will also learn from other authorities overseas, where collecting highly detailed data is becoming best practice.
Find out how the Bank of England is transforming data collection
Data privacy is protected
We will ensure that bank customers’ privacy is protected. We are working closely with stakeholders to ensure the data provided is appropriately anonymised at source before it is sent to us.
We take our role of kaitiaki (guardian) for this data seriously, understanding that it ultimately belongs to individual customers and entities.
We collect and handle personal information as part of our broader regulatory functions and processes. While most of the information we collect is about the regulated entity’s business, some personal information is occasionally required. For example, we may collect fit and proper information about regulated entities' directors and senior officers. All personal information is held, managed, and protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.
Project updates
LLD is a multi-year project that involves 2 phases prior to implementation in late 2026.
First phase (September 2023 to April 2024)
We have completed the first phase of our LLD project, which evaluated:
- the banks’ ability to provide an agreed set of granular data, and
- the consistency of the granular data against the aggregated data that banks previously provided us through our reporting templates.
We appreciate banks’ participation in the first phase of our LLD project. Banks provided a dataset which allowed us to assess the consistency, granularity and quality of the data supplied. The initial dataset provided insights that will be applied in future phases of the project.
Second phase (May 2024 to May 2025)
In this phase, banks are required to provide more detailed and anonymised customer data. We continue to manage and protect this data while working with banks to develop industry standards that will improve the quality of the granular data that we collect.
Please check back regularly or email us at [email protected] with any questions.