MNI: Adrian Orr Appointed RBNZ Governor Effective March

     SYDNEY (MNI) - New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson has appointed

Adrian Orr to the position of governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the

government announced Monday.

     In a statement, Robertson said Orr has been appointed for a five-year term

and he will take over from acting government Grant Spencer when his temporary

terms ends on March 27, 2018.

     Orr, a former deputy governor and head of financial stability at the RBNZ

from 2003 to 2007, is currently the chief executive officer of the New Zealand

Superannuation Fund. He was previously the chief economist at Westpac New

Zealand and chief manager of the economics department at the RBNZ.

     As per practice, Orr will sign a new Policy Targets Agreement (PTA) with

the Minister of Finance when he takes over in March. The review of the RBNZ Act

announced last month is unlikely to be completed by then, but Robertson said a

substantive part will be finished.

     "While it will not be possible to pass legislation to amend the Act to

reflect any changes from the review before the PTA is signed in March 2018, we

will ensure that the new PTA is developed in a manner consistent with the

direction of reform," he said. "If necessary, the PTA will be revised again

after the Act has been amended to reflect any changes from the review that

cannot be reflected within the provisions of the current Act."

     TD Securities Asia-Pacific Strategist Annette Beacher said the news has

removed the uncertainty in financial markets but she has no strong view as to

whether he's a dove or a hawk in terms of conducting monetary policy.

--MNI Sydney Bureau; tel: +61 2-9716-5467; email: sophia.rodrigues@marketnews.com

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