Skip to main content

Kōrero: Spending in the economy

Official cash rate

Video file

In December 2008 Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard announced a 1.5 point lowering of the official cash rate (OCR) – the biggest single shift since the system was introduced in 1999.The OCR has a flow-on impact on mortgage interest rates so it attracts a great deal of attention. Commercial banks borrow cash overnight from the Reserve Bank at a rate 25 basis points (.25%) above the OCR, and this rate is reflected in the amount they charge borrowers for loans.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

TV3

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Paul Dalziel, Spending in the economy – Spending stabilisation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/video/21639/official-cash-rate (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Paul Dalziel, i tāngia i te 25 January 2011, updated 16 September 2016.