On Sunday the AFR ran an interview with RBNZ...>

RBNZ: On Sunday the AFR ran an interview with RBNZ Deputy Governor Bascand. "The

Reserve Bank of New Zealand has offered an unexpected olive branch to the major

banks, with deputy governor Geoff Bascand saying it is "open minded" to

modifying the detail of its proposals to force the big four to substantially

lift their capital levels. To date, there had been little sign that the RBNZ was

considering softening its stance on the plans originally announced in December,

which Mr Bascand estimated would lift the amount of capital in the New Zealand

banks by about $NZ20 billion ($18.9 billion). But in an exclusive interview with

The Australian Financial Review in Sydney on Friday, he indicated the central

bank would remain flexible on timing, reconsider whether bank hybrid debt could

be included in the measurements and subject its own analysis to independent

cost-benefit analysis."