Appearing before a select committee yesterday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand executive team said the regulator was short 15 staff in its team that undertakes banking regulation. However, governor Adrian Orr said funding for more staff had been put on hold until phase two of the ongoing review of the Reserve Bank Act, and the bank had been "reprioritising" instead. It is another 18 months before the RBNZ is next due to renegotiate its budget with the government. Opposition MPs said the governor should be demanding more funding now, especially as the bank has paid its third-largest dividend ever to the government this year. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced the appointment of Patrick Hoerler to the role of assistant governor and general manager of business operations. Hoerler, originally from Switzerland, was previously the RBNZ's head of risk and audit. Recruitment is still underway for two further assistant governor roles at the central bank. Despite botched attempts to sell it off, UDC Finance continues to generate profit for its parent, ANZ. The bank gave up trying to sell it in October, after a NZ$660 million deal with Chinese conglomerate HNA was quashed by the Overseas Investment Office. UDC yesterday announced a record net profit of NZ$65.3 million for the year to September, up 6 per cent on the previous year.