19 February 2024
Chris Johnstone
[FYI request #25335 email]
Dear Chris
Official information request for shareholder information prior to RBNZ being nationalised
in 1936.
We refer to your Official Information Act (OIA) request of 5 January 2024 for:
Can you please provide the list of share holders bought out by the NZ Government when it took over
ownership of the Reserve Bank in the 1930’s, and the number of shares held.
Please also provide the document that recommends this nationalisation option to the government
and the reasons for and against (policy analysis).
Please provide the balance sheet ant, and profit and loss statement for the period immediately prior
to, nationalisation.
Response
We have searched through our records and located three documents that are in scope or otherwise
relevant to your request. These include a shareholder summary document that sets out a breakdown
of the numbers of shareholders, number of shares, and payment totals (or values of shares
transferred to New Zealand Government stock) in 1936. This document also appends a list of
shareholders who held over 200 shares at the time who applied for repayment in cash.
We have been unable to locate a balance sheet for the Reserve Bank immediately prior to
nationalisation in 1936 but have located (and are releasing to you in this response) a half yearly
balance sheet as of September 1934.
The final document is a list of shareholders who held 200 or more shares as of April 1936. Please
note we have been unable to locate a complete list of shareholders at the time. The records we have
located and are releasing to you suggests there were more than 5500 shareholders prior to
nationalisation.
Should you choose to do so, you may wish to search for any relevant documents with public access
at Archives New Zealand. You can access the search function on the Archives website at the fol owing
link:
https://col ections.archives.govt.nz/en/web/arena#/
2
Information for release
Please find enclosed the information listed in the table below, being released to you in ful .
1.
Item 2.
Document / information description
3.
4.
Reserve Bank Shareholder & Share Capital summary
document 1936
5.
6.
Preparation of Half-Yearly Balance Sheet (September
1934)
7.
8.
List of shareholders holding 200 or more shares (April
1936)
We intend to publish this response on the Reserve Bank’s website at:
www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-
and-publications/of icial-information-requests. We do this in order to improve transparency and
provide an additional resource for anyone seeking information.
Yours sincerely
Government and Industry Relations
Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua
Document Outline
