RBNZ Pandemic Response Criticized as Slow and Ineffective

A report on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) pandemic response has been released, and it's not all praise. The report finds that while the RBNZ's initial OCR cuts were swift, its response to the economy bouncing back was slow.

Former RBNZ economist Michael Reddell weighed in on the report, stating that most private sector forecasts were similar to the RBNZ's incorrect predictions. However, he notes that this doesn't entirely absolve the bank of responsibility.

'The difference, of course, is that the private sector forecasters weren't responsible for setting monetary policy - the Reserve Bank MPC was,' Reddell said.