(Reuters) – Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr has resigned in a surprise move, with his role finishing on March 31, three years before his current term ends, New Zealand’s central bank said on Wednesday.
“I leave the role with consumer price inflation at target, and an economy in a cyclical recovery following the long period of COVID-related disruption. The financial system remains sound,” Orr said in a statement.
Orr was reappointed as the central bank governor for another five-year term effective from March 27, 2023.
Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby will be the acting governor until March 31, the RBNZ statement said.
From April 1, New Zealand’s finance minister, on recommendation from the RBNZ Board, will appoint a temporary governor for up to six months. Hawkesby will also chair the monetary policy committee, the RBNZ said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis acknowledged Orr’s resignation and wished him well for his future.
Orr’s resignation did not have much impact on the New Zealand dollar, with the kiwi extending earlier losses and last down 0.25% to $0.5651.
His surprise exit comes amid New Zealand’s worst economic downturn since 1991 outside of the pandemic, which analysts blame on low productivity and various policy missteps in part caused by unreliable data.
Unemployment is at a more than four-year high while the number in work saw the largest annual decline since 2009. Companies are going bust at the fastest pace in over a decade.
New Zealand’s Labor-led government in 2018 appointed Orr, who was the chief of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as the country’s top central banker. Orr had served as RBNZ’s deputy governor for four years before joining the New Zealand Super Fund in 2007.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney, editing by Alasdair Pal and Lincoln Feast.)
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