We are also conscious that there may be subtle changes occurring around what households regard as an acceptable target level of wealth in retirement. This may be driving current consumption and savings decisions. Traditionally, the bequest motive has been a driver of many New Zealanders' savings strategies.
Indeed, the BIS Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) concluded, already in 2009, that margining practices in OTC derivatives and haircut-setting in SFTs are a source of procyclicality in the financial system, and recommended enhancements to these practices in order to dampen the build-up of leverage in good times and soften the system-wide effects in bad times.38 Furthermore, the CGFS encouraged macroprudential authorities to consider measures that involve countercyclical variations in margins and haircuts.