RBNZ: Austraclear merger not being considered

RBNZ: Austraclear merger not being considered

The Reserve Bank today said that, despite a report in today's Dominion Post, it is not in discussions with any party regarding a merger or replacement of its Austraclear Depository System.

This comes after the Dominion Post reported that "The Stock Exchange is considering a merger of its settlement system with the Reserve Bank's Austraclear debt securities and equities settlement system."

Reserve Bank Acting Governor Rod Carr commented: "The Reserve Bank has not been in discussions with the Stock Exchange. It may be that the Stock Exchange is considering coming to the Bank with a proposal and if that is the case we will consider it. However, in the meantime the Reserve Bank remains committed to continuing to provide this service."

Austraclear is a wholesale operation for the clearing and settlement of high-value debt securities and equities. At 30 June 2002, Austraclear had 230 members with total investments of $74.2 billion. The legal entity that Austraclear works within is a company, New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited, which is wholly owned by the Reserve Bank.

ENDS

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