Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) on Thursday appointed Sarah Owen, Kate Kolich and Greg Smith as assistant governors, in a bid to strengthen its leadership team after several senior officials left the bank.
The appointments will become effective between February and May next year and follow the departures of Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand and Chief Economist Yuong Ha, among others.
The staff turnover has increased scrutiny of RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr, who told https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/new-zealand-central-bank-expects-cash-rate-go-above-neutral-rate-2021-12-14 a parliamentary panel on Wednesday that the departures resulted from operational changes and individual choices rather than issues with his leadership.
"These appointments announced today are key to strengthening our leadership team ... as we move to a new statutory governance board in 2022, " the RBNZ said in a statement.
The bank added recruitment for the remaining roles of assistant governor and general manager of money group was progressing well, with announcements expected in early 2022.
(Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
