New Zealand central bank says former head quit over fund

11/6/2025 12:06

Former New Zealand central bank governor Adrian Orr's surprise resignation in March was due to his disagreements with the treasury over proposed cuts to the bank's operating budget, official documents showed on Wednesday.



The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), in an official response to requests received under the Official Information Act, said Orr viewed the funding offered to the bank "a considerably lesser amount."



The RBNZ said in the document, "This caused distress to Orr and the impasse risked damaging necessary working relationships."



"(It) led to Orr's personal decision that he had achieved all he could as Governor of the Reserve Bank and could not continue in that role with sufficiently less funding than he thought was viable for the organisation."



Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in April that the central bank's operating budget would be cut by about 25% in the coming fiscal year and set at roughly NZ$150 million ($90.90 million) for each of the next five years.



Orr resigned suddenly in March, ending a seven-year term that had become contentious after painfully high interest rates tipped New Zealand into one of its worst downturns since 1991.