to the appointment, remuneration and removal of the deputy governors ). the governor may delegate decision making authority to other officers of the bank. ii ) the bank ’ s span of responsibilities the reserve bank is a full service central bank and its responsibilities are broader than most other central banks. not all central banks are responsible for prudential and regulatory oversight of the banking and payment systems, or have the authority to undertake exchange rate intervention. in addition, the bank has an extensive programme of financial stabilityrelated initiatives underway that includes open bank resolution, the introduction of macroprudential instruments, a review of the payments system, and implementation of basel iii capital requirements. the bank has also taken on responsibilities for anti - money laundering and regulation of insurance companies and non - bank deposit takers. bis central bankers ’ speeches iii ) important checks and balances the checks and balances and accountability mechanisms relating to the bank are considerable and include : • publication of an annual report, at least two monetary policy statements ( we do four ), and two semi - annual financial stability reports. the bank ’ s reports are reviewed by parliament ’ s finance and expenditure committee, the board of directors of the reserve bank, and the bank provides press conferences around each monetary policy statement and financial stability report. • external auditing of the bank ’ s financial reporting, oversight by the audit committee of the reserve bank board, and a strong in - house internal auditing function that reports to the governor and works closely with the board ’ s audit committee. • publication of regulatory impact assessments of any prudential policy that it adopts. • monitoring and oversight by the board of directors of the reserve bank, which acts as agent to the minister of finance in reviewing how well the bank meets its legislative responsibilities. the board reviews the bank ’ s performance under the pta, and its efforts to promote the maintenance of a sound and efficient financial system. in considering the bank ’ s monetary policy decisions, the directors receive all of the papers discussed by the bank ’ s monetary policy committee, the written advice that the governor receives from individual members of the monetary policy committee, and webcasts of the governor ’ s press conferences. the board meets nine times a year ( four times a year outside of wellington where receptions are held with the business community ) and provides advice to the governor on various management issues. the board assesses the bank ’ s performance in meeting its obligations and responsibilities, discusses this with the minister of finance, and

, and are chaired by a governor. usually decisions are taken at the committee meeting, but major and complex policy decisions will often be referred to the governing committee. management decisions are taken at weekly meetings of the bank ’ s senior management group and all communications issues and requests are discussed weekly at the communications committee. v ) communicating policy decisions we are expanding our on - the - record speaking by increasing the number of speeches, broadening the range of topics while remaining within the reserve bank ’ s framework, and increasing the number of speakers. at the same time, the bank will continue its extensive off - the - record briefings to groups ranging in size from 15 to 400 people, but we will become more selective in the 80 – 100 briefings we provide each year. we are also expanding our communications through social media, in - house videos, webcasts and other online channels. we provide considerable background briefings to the media, but announce our policy decisions through our publications, speeches, and press conferences. we will also provide six - monthly briefings to the caucuses of the political parties, and are redesigning our website to expand its information content and increase its accessibility. to be effective, monetary policy requires transparency in terms of policy goals and how these are to be achieved. the former is contained in the policy targets agreement ; the latter through our monetary policy statements, ocr announcements, speeches and press conferences. in commenting on monetary policy decisions and especially those relating to the official cash rate, we are conscious that traders pre - position themselves prior to policy announcements and that the exchange rate and interest rate spreads can alter depending on the policy decision and the language that accompanies it. above all, we want policy statements to accurately reflect the economic conjuncture and outlook as we see it, and the range of considerations we are weighing in fulfilling our responsibilities. in the case of monetary policy, these include implementing monetary policy in a sustainable, consistent, and transparent manner, having regard to the efficiency and soundness of the financial system, and seeking to avoid unnecessary instability in output, interest rates, and the exchange rate. the 90 - day interest rate projection contained in the monetary policy statement is a form of forward guidance as to our expectations of movements in the bank ’ s official cash rate. it is intended to help businesses and households plan with greater confidence in managing their consumption patterns and saving and investment decisions, and to help shape expectations about the future path of inflation and interest rates. this also helps market