As a financial regulator, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand generally seeks to align with international standards, but uses national discretion to adjust for local conditions as needed.
Where we make adjustments we seek to achieve regulatory consistency, mindful also that our approach is: •  to foster market discipline by stressing self discipline by banks in managing risks, and  •  to avoid supervisory practices that might erode market discipline or weaken the incentives for a bank to take ultimate responsibility for the management of risks.