Macroeconomist joins New Zealand central bank policy panel

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has appointed a University of Auckland professor to its new Financial Policy Committee.

Prasanna Gai will serve as an external member of the body responsible for financial stability and macro-prudential policy. The central bank also named former prudential regulator Heidi Richards to the committee.

The FPC is responsible for setting regulatory requirements for banks and other financial institutions and oversee tools such as loan-to-value and debt-to-income limits.

Gai is head of the economics, accounting and finance, and property departments at the University of Auckland. He is a leading academic in financial stability and risk, and previously served on the board of New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority through the end of 2025.

He will hold a three-year term from 2026 to 2028 while remaining on the Monetary Policy Committee.

Richards, an internationally experienced regulatory and risk specialist, was appointed to a four-year term through 2029.

The Financial Policy Committee will hold its first meeting in late February 2026.