christian hawkesby : central banking and financial inclusion remarks by mr christian hawkesby, deputy governor and general manager of financial stability of the reserve bank of new zealand, to the institute of directors, canterbury, 21 april 2023. * * * there is no shortage of challenges as a central banker in the current environment, with domestic and global inflation too high and persistent, and the recent fragilities exposed by bank failures in the united states and europe. today i'll touch briefly on these topics, with a particular focus on financial inclusion and the impacts on different parts of our society. in doing so, i'll highlight some material from our upcoming financial stability report ( to be published on 3 may ) and reiterate some of the messages from our most recent monetary policy review ( 5 april ). periods of high consumer price inflation hit hardest for those with low or fixed incomes such as a government benefit or pension, and those without significant wealth or savings to draw on. at the same time, lifting interest rates to cool the economy, and ultimately combat high inflation, also has consequences for those on the margins of the workforce with the least job security. this is why it is so important to foster an ongoing environment of low and stable inflation. over the course of the past 18 months, the monetary policy committee ( mpc ) has increased the official cash rate ( ocr ) from 0. 25 % to 5. 25 %. at the most recent monetary policy review, the committee noted that : the full impact of the monetary policy tightening is yet to be fully realised, there are early signs that growth in the domestic economy is beginning to slow, and the extent of this moderation will determine the direction of future monetary policy. the recent high profile failures of silicon valley bank ( svb ) and credit suisse have proven pertinent reminders of the importance of financial stability. particularly, the importance of sound financial risk management by banks in an environment with large changes in interest rates. in new zealand, all registered banks are required to have systems in place to monitor and control their material risks, including interest rate risks. our banks also operate different business models that mean that they are not as exposed to the risks that have led to the issues with svb. our banks undertake a regular and rigorous stress testing programme, and our bank financial strength dashboard displays data on the financial health of registered banks in new zealand. 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches our work to promote a sound and stable

by nearly €1 billion, reflecting, among other things, the postponement to 2008 of the renewal of several public - sector labour contracts. the revised estimates for revenue are consistent with the results to date. excluding the amounts collected in january, which appertained largely to 2006, by the end of june central government tax revenue was 5. 1 per cent higher than in the same period of 2006. the planning document estimates the annual increase in general government tax revenues at 4. 6 per cent for 2007, compared with 3. 9 per cent in the combined report. the behaviour of the borrowing requirement in the first part of the year is fundamentally consistent with the new estimates of net borrowing for 2007. in the first five months of the year the general government borrowing requirement amounted to €48. 7 billion, about €10 billion less than in the same period of 2006. more than half of the improvement in the accounts with respect to the projections in december has now been earmarked by the government for additional expenditure. in fact, together with the planning document, the government has passed a decree law and a midyear budget revision that according to official estimates will entail additional outlays of 0. 4 percentage points of gdp this year and 0. 1 points in each of the next two. a good part of the additional expenditure in 2007 represents an adjustment of resources to the necessities of policies already in place ; about a fifth reflects new government initiatives. the increase in outlays connected with decree law 81 of 2 july 2007 are estimated at €5. 6 billion for this year and €1. 6 billion a year when fully phased in. the decree comprises a number of measures. most of the provisions ( worth €2. 5 billion ) involve central government departments and consist in supplementary appropriations or attenuations of spending constraints enacted in previous budgets. in particular, with an effect valued at €1. 5 billion, the decree frees the funds that ministries were obliged to set aside in unavailable reserves under the finance law for 2007. it also appropriates funds to increase low pensions ( €0. 9 billion ), for humanitarian aid ( €0. 3 billion ), for current transfers to public enterprises ( €0. 3 billion ), and for short - term substitution of school personnel ( €0. 2 billion ). finally, it allocates €0. 5 billion and €0. 7 billion for the modernization of the road and railway networks, respectively. taking