N.Z.’s Robertson Says Further Economic Responses Are Coming

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson said he will announce further government measures to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus in coming days.

Robertson said that when he unveiled a NZ$12.1 billion ($6.9 billion) stimulus package last week, he reserved the right to move again before the budget in May. “Clearly things are moving very fast,” Robertson said on TVNZ’s Q+A program on Sunday. “I think you can expect more announcements from us around economic responses in the coming days.”

Robertson said he had been talking to the banks about what they can do, and noted measures taken in Australia, where some lenders will defer mortgage and small-business loan repayments for up to six months.

“The Australian banks themselves are moving and they’re also talking to the government about moving together and I think that’s clearly the template for us,” he said. “We’re in active discussions over this weekend with the banks and I’m very hopeful we’ll see the banks move very quickly.”

Robertson said there was a need for “a high level of coordination and collaboration in the financial system” and he’s been speaking to Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr “just about every day.”

Orr wrote in a newspaper opinion article published today that the central bank is “ready to act further” and has “more firepower in reserve.”

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