No agreement to single banking regulator – Cullen
“New Zealand has made no commitment to a single trans-Tasman banking regulator,” Finance Minister Michael Cullen said
today.
He also strongly refuted suggestions in The Dominion Post that the Australian government was putting New Zealand under
any pressure to consider the idea.
“All we have committed to, as the terms of reference for the Trans-Tasman Council on Banking Supervision make plain, is
to: enhance cooperation; review trans-Tasman crisis response preparedness; provide policy advice on the principles of
policy harmonisation; and report on possible legislative changes to ensure the Australian Prudential Regulation
Authority and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand can support each other in the performance of their current regulatory
responsibilities.
“Australian Treasurer Peter Costello also made clear at yesterday’s post-bilateral press conference that, from both
governments’ perspective, this is an open ended exercise with no pre-defined end points.” Dr Cullen said.