Market Notice No: 202101
Date: 19 July 2021
The New Zealand Financial Benchmark Facility (NZFBF) launched its website today. The website contains information relating to the administration of New Zealand’s Interest Rate benchmarks, namely BKBM, OCR Compound Index and Closing Rates. NZFBF, a subsidiary of the New Zealand Financial Markets Association (NZFMA), was formed to improve the governance of benchmark determination, and to be responsible for benchmark methodology, calculation and publication.
The website contains information on the governance structure of NZFBF including details of the NZFBF Board, code of conduct and the management of conflicts of interest, whistle-blowing and the complaints process.
Documents relating to guidelines, rules and principles for each benchmark’s determination, along with each benchmark’s methodology, is also available on the website. These documents were formerly available on the NZFMA website. They have been updated to reflect the establishment of NZFBF, the gaps identified by a recent audit and assurance process, requirements to obtain equivalence with European Benchmark Regulation and requirements for the FMA’s Benchmark Administrator Licensing regime, which the NZFBF will apply for in the coming months. The main changes in the documents relate to providing clarity around the calculation of the benchmarks, including a final stage methodology and a process for benchmark cessation. There have been no changes to the calculation of the benchmarks.
The NZFMA remains the owner of the Interest Rate benchmark data and as a result subscription to real-time NZFMA Benchmark data will continue to be managed by the NZFMA via their website.
If you have any questions relating to the NZFBF or its website content please contact – John Groom, General Manager, NZFBF or +64 4 333 1378.