All countries designed their policy responses for their local conditions, commencing with the tools that were most operationally ready to deploy. While the front-line economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic is fiscal policy, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand provided significant assistance by ensuring interest rates were reduced to a level consistent with maintaining low and stable inflation, and contributing to maximum sustainable employment.
Consistent with our dual monetary policy mandate and our financial stability mandate, we acted to support economic and financial activity.