BIS Review 44/2003  3  New Zealand's high dependence on external financing creates a risk that foreign lenders may at some time become more reluctant to increase their exposure to New Zealand. This would raise the premium we would have to pay in order to maintain access to offshore funding.
Foreign lenders may even seek to withdraw their existing funds in New Zealand, especially if perceptions about the New Zealand economy, rightly or wrongly, take a turn for the worse.