Reserve Bank assistant governor Karen Silk resigns before the end of her term; two vacancies now need filling on powerful OCR committee
Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor Karen Silk is resigning five months before her term ends, creating a vacancy on the Monetary Policy Committee. The bank plans to split her responsibilities into two separate roles to ensure leadership continuity.
Why it matters
Changes in the composition of a central bank's monetary policy committee can influence market expectations regarding future interest rate decisions.
Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Karen Silk is due to step down in mid-December. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Reserve Bank assistant governor Karen Silk is stepping down from the central bank five months before her term on the powerful committee that sets the Official Cash Rate is due to end.
Silk will participate in two more Monetary Policy Committee meetings, on October 28 and December 9, before departing the bank in mid-December.
Her five-year term on the committee was due to end in mid-May 2027.
Silk’s departure means two seats on the seven-member committee now need to be filled by people who work at the Reserve Bank.
One of the seats has been empty since former Governor Adrian Orr departed in March last year.
The Reserve Bank is working on making an interim appointment to the committee.
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