New Zealand Central Bank Chair Neil Quigley resigns

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(Reuters) -Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Chairman Neil Quigley has resigned with immediate effect, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said on Friday.

Quigley’s departure follows months of speculation, as pressure mounted on him after the sudden resignation of former governor Adrian Orr in March due to disagreements over proposed cuts to the RBNZ’s budget.

“Mr Quigley has decided that having overseen a number of key workstreams for the bank, now is the appropriate time for him to hand over to a new chair,” Willis said in a statement.

Since Orr’s departure, Quigley has been facing media questions and criticism over the handling of the situation and the bank’s lack of transparency.

Quigley had said Orr’s sudden departure was a personal decision, but official documents from the bank released in June showed the funding cuts caused distress to Orr and that the impasse risked damaging the working relationship, prompting him to resign.

The government announced in April that RBNZ’s operating budget would be cut by roughly 25% in the coming fiscal year and be set at NZ$150 million ($90 million) for each of the next five years.

In response, RBNZ said it was planning to trim roughly one-fifth of its workforce to save costs. The RBNZ has grown its workforce to 660 employees, an increase of more than 2-1/2 times from 255 in 2018.

Willis said Deputy Chair Rodger Finlay would exercise the functions of chair until an appointment is made and Quigley’s vacancy on the board would be filled in due course.

Quigley spent 15 years as a board member of the central bank and nine as chair. He was re-appointed to the role in 2024 for a further two-year term.

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Praveen Menon, Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam)