Christian Hawkesby appointed Reserve Bank governor for six months, following Adrian Orr’s shock resignation

Christian Hawkesby appointed Reserve Bank governor for the next six months. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has appointed acting Reserve Bank governor Christian Hawkesby as governor for six months.

Hawkesby’s appointment was recommended by the Reserve Bank board, following Adrian Orr resigning as governor a month ago.

Hawkesby served as Orr’s deputy, spending some years as the general manager of the Bank’s financial stability group.

The appointment is effective from today, and can be extended by up to three months with written notice.

The Reserve Bank board has started the recruitment process to nominate a permanent governor, who will serve for five years.

In the meantime, the seven-member Monetary Policy Committee, which sets the Official Cash Rate (OCR), will only have six members - three Reserve Bank staff and three external members. Hawkesby will hold the casting vote.

“Mr Hawkesby is an experienced central banker who has held a number of senior positions at the Reserve Bank,” Willis said.

She said his appointment would ensure “continued integrity and operations of the Reserve Bank while the search for a permanent governor is under way”.

“During his term, the board will support Mr Hawkesby to implement the bank’s new five-year funding agreement which will apply from 1 July 2025,” Willis said.

Her office said she would have more to say about the funding agreement later this week.

Previously, Willis suggested the Reserve Bank’s funding may be cut.

Reserve Bank board chair Neil Quigley said, “Mr Hawkesby’s leadership and expertise have been invaluable to Te Pūtea Matua since he joined the Reserve Bank in 2019.

“His appointment reflects both his contributions and our confidence in his ability.”

Hawkesby said, “I am proud to step into the role of governor and continue contributing to our mission of working to enable economic prosperity and wellbeing for all New Zealanders.”

Before joining the Reserve Bank, Hawkesby helped establish Harbour Asset Management and spent nine years in senior roles at the Bank of England. He has a Master of Commerce (Hons) in Economics from the University of Canterbury.

Orr’s departure from the Reserve Bank came as a surprise, as he left almost halfway through his second five-year term as governor, without providing an explanation for leaving.

Quigley said he left for “personal reasons”.

Orr’s resignation ended up being announced in a rush - five days before the Reserve Bank planned to unveil it, and the day before the Reserve Bank hosted a big international conference in Wellington.

The Reserve Bank is expected to cut the OCR by 25 basis points, to 3.5%, tomorrow.

Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in Government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.