Finance Minister Nicola Willis will announce the new Reserve Bank (RBNZ) Governor at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Christian Hawkesby has held the Governor role on a short-term basis since the abrupt resignation of Adrian Orr in March. The central bank’s board has been seeking a replacement since April and must appoint a permanent governor before January.
Hawkesby, who was Deputy Governor under Orr, was one of a number of candidates who applied for the job but Bloomberg reports the role has been given to a woman who is based overseas, although it didn’t identify her.
Other media have speculated that it could be Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden, who has worked at the British central bank since 1991.
Her core responsibility is financial stability and she sits on a Prudential Regulation Committee, similar to the one proposed in a Finance and Expenditure Committee report last month.
However, she also serves on the Monetary Policy Committee and is a director on the equivalent of the central bank’s board.
In New Zealand, the RBNZ Governor is the chief executive of the bank, chairs its monetary policy committee, and sits on the board of directors.
Orr was paid $804,000 in the 2024 financial year and 853,810 in 2023. At the Bank of England, Breeden likely earns somewhere between $700,000 and $850,000 in NZ dollars.
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