Reserve Bank appoints two external monetary policy advisers

RBNZ prepares to set the Official Cash Rate with the appointment of two new external advisers

Reserve Bank appoints two external monetary policy advisers

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has appointed two new part-time advisers to advise on monetary policy.

Susan Paterson and William Rolleston will commence their roles with the May Monetary Policy Statement, and will advise the Reserve Bank’s Governing Committee leading up to setting the Official Cash Rate.

 “Dr Paterson and Dr Rolleston offer significant value with their fresh viewpoints,” says Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr.

“They will bring valuable outside perspectives to our decision making, and will help ensure the bank is well-informed about developments in the New Zealand economy.”

Paterson comes with over 20 years of board experience across a number of sectors, and Rolleston is the chair of Life Sciences Network, Agriview NZ and the University of Otago’s Genomics Aotearoa.

The Government announced last year that changes would be made to the way Official Cash Rate decisions are made, aiming to ‘create a modern monetary and financial policy framework.’ Key changes include employment to the Bank’s price stability objective, and creating a committee decision-making model for monetary policy decisions; the Monetary Policy Committee will consist of both senior Reserve Bank people and external members.

The Official Cash Rate has remained unchanged since February 2017.