RBNZ wins transparency award for Monetary Policy Handbook work

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr said it was a great honor to receive this year’s Central Banking Transparency Award.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has won the 'Transparency Award' at the Central Banking Publications annual awards for its work on the Monetary Policy Handbook.

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr said it was a great honor to receive this year's Central Banking Transparency Award.

"We want to be a 'Great Team, Best Central Bank' and transparency plays a crucial part to get there. This award recognizes our efforts to bring a higher level of transparency and accountability in achieving our mandate," Mr. Orr said.

Central Banking Publications stated the handbook was clearly written and informative. They were particularly impressed with the new approach in information-sharing that the handbook represents, "It shows the Reserve Bank's real commitment to communicating with the nation's citizens and other stakeholders in a serious, honest manner."

Mr. Orr said the introduction of New Zealand's monetary policy framework early last year gave the Reserve Bank an opportunity to be more open in its policy process. "As part of this, we prepared the Monetary Policy Handbook which provides key information on our understanding of how the New Zealand economy operates and our framework for monetary policy formulation. By making it also available to the wider public, the handbook serves as a tool to help explain how monetary policy works and contributes to the economy. The handbook is intended to be a living document that communicates our evolving understanding of the economy and the role monetary policy plays."

Mr. Orr also commended the people involved in putting together the handbook. "I congratulate the staff who have worked to ensure our monetary policy processes are transparent and clearly communicated."

The Reserve Bank has previously won in other categories of the Central Banking awards. It was named the 'Central Bank of the Year' in 2015 and has received the 'Initiative of the Year' award twice – in 2016 for its enterprise risk management system and in 2019 for the Bank Financial Strength Dashboard. Former Reserve Bank senior adviser Leo Krippner also won the award for 'Economics in Central Banking' in 2017.