IMF to test NZ banking, insurance sectors

A team from the International Monetary Fund will this year assess the stability of New Zealand’s banking and insurance sectors and financial markets, Finance Minister Bill English said on Monday. The Financial Sector Assessment Program — a routine part of the IMF’s financial surveillance — found the banking system was efficient and adequately supervised when it was last conducted in 2004, English said. “New Zealand has a stable, well-capitalized banking sector that held up well in the face of the global financial crisis and I expect the IMF to comment favorably on both it and the improvements to the regulatory landscape since its last report,” he said in a statement.