, these two new systems are critical infrastructure to our financial system, allowing every new zealander and major institutions to go about their daily lives settling their financial obligations with integrity and confidence. the project was the most complex technology switch that our payments and settlements group had ever undertaken. the scope was unprecedented as we simultaneously replaced both the country ’ s real time gross settlement ( rtgs ) and central security depository ( csd ) systems which is unheard of for a modern economy. no material issues arose during the go - live. in fact - weeks after the launch, covid hit putting enormous pressure on the economy and our markets, but we had confidence in the integrity of our newly - launched system, knowing that we had prepared our members, our staff, all our processes and technology well to handle unprecedented volumes with ease. transformation and change looking to the future now, and we are navigating through a period of change and transformation at the bank as we await the enactment of the new reserve bank of new zealand act – the legislation that underpins our purpose and how we operate. page 4 of 9 since 2018, we have been jointly working with the treasury to see the new reserve bank of new zealand bill introduced to parliament in july last year. we are incredibly excited with the foundational opportunity we have through the new legislation to fully modernise and empower new zealand ’ s central bank. the implementation of the new reserve bank act will enable us to be fit for purpose and to undertake the considerable transformation that will allow us to continue to effectively and consistently deliver on our mandate. other major legislative changes are also underway which will strengthen our prudential regulation and supervisory powers : the deposit takers act will modernise, strengthen, and unify our regulatory framework for all deposit - takers ; the review of the insurance ( prudential supervision ) act ( ipsa ). last year we have launched a dual consultation on the scope of the ipsa and associated insurer solvency standards ; the financial markets infrastructure bill will establish a new regulatory regime for fmis that will be jointly administered by the bank and the financial markets authority. our funding part of our transformation is ensuring that we have the adequate resources to meet our increasing responsibilities and the expectations of new zealanders. in the financial year 2019 / 20, we agreed a new funding agreement for the period 1 july 2020 to 30 june 2025 with the minister of finance. prior to this new funding agreement, we are pleased to report that we completed the

previous five - year funding agreement on target despite the challenges we ’ ve encountered over that period, including the relocation to temporary office premises due to asbestos remediation work, review of the reserve bank act, and the reform of major systems. additionally, in 2019 / 20, covid - 19 created an extraordinary high demand for banknotes resulting in the bank exceeding the net operating expenses specified under the funding agreement. the excess cost is expected to largely reverse at some stage as we expect the bulk of the growth in banknote volumes issued to be repatriated. page 5 of 9 our new funding agreement accounts for additional investment to ensure we operate as a great team, best central bank. the increase in funding means we are able to address the critical risks to delivering our mandate, respond to areas of past underinvestment, and establish a long - term model to promote the wellbeing of new zealand. we are committed to managing our resources effectively and measuring our delivery on the priorities we ’ ve set. diversity and inclusion as aotearoa new zealand ’ s central bank, we need to ensure that we drive economic wellbeing for all new zealanders. in our capacity as a council of financial regulator member and with our own te ao maori strategy, we are harnessing diversity and financial inclusion, and collaborating to better understand the economy. in particular, we continue to embed our te ao maori strategy across our work at the bank and with our stakeholders. most recently, we have released te ohanga maori, a report on the maori economy, in partnership with business and economic research ltd ( berl ). understanding how the maori culture and how maori businesses operate, gives us a richer insight into their important contribution to and impacts on the new zealand economy. this research will form the basis of ongoing engagement over the coming years as we look to better understand the perspective of the maori economy. internationally, we have initiated a series of virtual global discussion with our central bank colleagues in canada, the united states, and australia on building a collective, foundational understanding on indigenous histories and economics. work is also underway to translate the key metrics of our financial strength dashboard into te reo maori. internally, we have a diversity and inclusion working group, in charge of a work programme to increase awareness of diversity and inclusion and further improve gender and ethnic diversity at the bank over time. last year, for the first time, we joined the tupu tai pasifika public sector internship programme, offering