Swedish economist named as governor of Reserve Bank

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Dr Anna Breman will serve as the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Breman was most recently the First Deputy Governor of Sweden’s central bank.

“Dr Breman comes to New Zealand with an impressive blend of technical skills and organisational leadership experience,” Willis says.

“She has been a Deputy Governor of Sweden’s Riksbank since 2019.

“She holds a PhD in economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and has previously been group chief economist at Swedbank, a leading Swedish commercial bank.

“She has also worked at the Swedish Ministry of Finance, the World Bank and as an academic economist in the United States.”

Willis says Breman was nominated for the role by the Reserve Bank board following a worldwide search in which 300 potential candidates were identified.

“The core criteria against which candidates were assessed were enterprise leadership, technical credentials, stakeholder engagement experience, personal resilience and cultural capability.

“A long list of 10 international and domestic candidates was created drawn from academia, government, financial or regulatory institutions and central bank leadership.

“Of these candidates, four were shortlisted for interviews with board members during July.

“Dr Breman has been appointed for a term of five years. She begins her new role on December 1 and I look forward to working with her.

“I also want to acknowledge Christian Hawkesby, who has done an admirable job of filling in as Governor since April 8.

“Mr Hawkesby will finish up at the Reserve Bank when Dr Breman starts.

“Prior to that, he has undertaken to do all he can to prepare and support the new Governor, and I thank him for that. I wish him all the best for the future.”