Treasury bond finance operations

Bijou Smith made this Official Information request to Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Currently waiting for a response from Reserve Bank of New Zealand, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).

From: Bijou Smith

Dear Reserve Bank of New Zealand,
I am researching to compare NZ versus USA central bank operations. In the USA the FED cannot directly "purchase" Treasury bonds, and they go through a repo/reverse repo with selected dealer banks in an arrangement to get the 'scorepoints' into the Treasury account positive, so payments by the US government can be made into bank accounts.

In New Zealand is our Treasury department able to,
(1) directly monetize (instruct the RBNZ to make authorized payments to banks without issuing bonds), and/or,
(2) directly "sell" T-bill or Tsy bonds to the RBNZ for purposes of government payments clearing --- without conducting open market operations?
(3) Are there statutory limits on monetization of Parliamentary approved government payments (does our Treasury dept. need to have a positive account balance at the RBNZ, or can the RBNZ allow Treasury to run an overdraft --- functionally a "loan" of one branch of government to another)?

Those are three separate questions.

Yours faithfully,
Dr B. M. Smith
Wellington, 6035
New Zealand

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From: RBNZ Info
Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Kia ora, 

  

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2 The Terrace, Wellington 6011. PO Box 2498, Wellington 6140     
 
T + 04 471 3660         

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Link to this

From: Ministerial correspondence Mailbox
Reserve Bank of New Zealand


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Kia ora

 

We’ve received your official information request.

 

On 25/10/2024 you sent us a request for the following official
information:

 

I am researching to compare NZ versus USA central bank operations. In the
USA the FED cannot directly "purchase" Treasury bonds, and they go through
a repo/reverse repo with selected dealer banks in an arrangement to get
the 'scorepoints' into the Treasury account positive, so payments by the
US government can be made into bank accounts.

 

In New Zealand is our Treasury department able to,

(1) directly monetize (instruct the RBNZ to make authorized payments to
banks without issuing bonds), and/or,

(2) directly "sell" T-bill or Tsy bonds to the RBNZ for purposes of
government payments clearing --- without conducting open market
operations?

(3) Are there statutory limits on monetization of Parliamentary approved
government payments (does our Treasury dept. need to have a positive
account balance at the RBNZ, or can the RBNZ allow Treasury to run an
overdraft --- functionally a "loan" of one branch of government to
another)?

 

What happens next?

We expect to have a response to you within 20 working days of your
original request. Some   responses require more time, and  we’ll be in
touch with you if we need to extend the timeframe.

 

Is there a cost?

We usually provide official information to requestors for free. However,
when a request is particularly complex or requires our staff to spend a
lot of time collating information, we may need  to pass on some of that
cost. This is provided for under the Official Information Act (see the
Ombudsman’s [1]Guide to Charging).

 

If your request falls into this category, we’ll be in touch with you to
discuss how you might be able to refine your request to avoid, or
minimise, any costs to you.

 

What happens to the information you ask for?

Responses to official information requests are published on the Reserve
Bank’s website after they have been sent to the requestor. We do this as
part of Open Government – because all public sector agencies have a
responsibility to be open and transparent about what they’re doing and the
decisions they’re making.

 

More information

You can find more information on our website:
[2]www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/official-information-requests.

 

Ngā manaakitanga

Government and Industry Relations Team

  Reserve Bank of New Zealand
– Te Pūtea Matua
 
2 The Terrace, Wellington
6011. PO Box 2498, [4][IMG] [5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG] [8][IMG]
Wellington 6140

W [3]rbnz.govt.nz

 

 

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Link to this

From: Ministerial correspondence Mailbox
Reserve Bank of New Zealand


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Dear Dr Smith

 

We refer to your request of 25 October 2024 for the following information:

 

In New Zealand is our Treasury department able to,

(1) directly monetize (instruct the RBNZ to make authorized payments to
banks without issuing bonds), and/or,

(2) directly "sell" T-bill or Tsy bonds to the RBNZ for purposes of
government payments clearing --- without conducting open market
operations?

(3) Are there statutory limits on monetization of Parliamentary approved
government payments (does our Treasury dept. need to have a positive
account balance at the RBNZ, or can the RBNZ allow Treasury to run an
overdraft --- functionally a "loan" of one branch of government to
another)?

 

We have transferred your request to the Treasury as it is believed to be
more closely connected with the functions of the Treasury. In these
circumstances, we are required by section 14 of the Official Information
Act 1982 to transfer your request.

 

You will hear further from the Treasury concerning your request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Government Relations

Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea [2]Text Description automatically
Matua generated

2 The Terrace, Wellington 6011. PO Box    
2498, Wellington 6140

W [1]rbnz.govt.nz

 

 

 

This message (and any files transmitted with it) are confidential and may
be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please notify
the sender immediately and delete this message from your system.

This message does not necessarily reflect the views of the Reserve Bank of
New Zealand. If the recipient has any concerns about the content of this
message they should seek alternative confirmation from the Reserve Bank of
New Zealand.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/

Link to this

From: Ministerial Services Inbox [TSY]


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[UNCLASSIFIED]

Kia ora

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 which
was received transferred from RBNZ to Treasury on 11 November 2024
seeking:-

 

In New Zealand is our Treasury department able to,

(1) directly monetize (instruct the RBNZ to make authorized payments to
banks without issuing bonds), and/or,

(2) directly "sell" T-bill or Tsy bonds to the RBNZ for purposes of
government payments clearing --- without conducting open market
operations?

(3) Are there statutory limits on monetization of Parliamentary approved
government payments (does our Treasury dept. need to have a positive
account balance at the RBNZ, or can the RBNZ allow Treasury to run an
overdraft --- functionally a "loan" of one branch of government to
another)?

 

A response will be provided in accordance with the Act (please see the
Office of the Ombudsman Website for more details –
http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/).

 

The Treasury may publish the response to your Official Information Act
(OIA) request. When you are provided with a response to this request, you
will be informed about whether the response to your OIA request will be
published. If the Treasury does publish the response to your OIA request,
personal information, including your name and contact details, will be
removed. This publication process does not apply to extension letters or
transfers.

 

Thanks

 

 

Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury

Tel: +64 4 831 4666 | Email/IM: [1][email address]

Visit us online at [2]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[3]Twitter, [4]LinkedIn and [5]Instagram

 

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