RBNZ puts NZClear up for sale

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is hoping to sell the NZClear security settlement and depository business which it has owned and operated for 25 years.

The business was subject to a strategic review in 2014 "which concluded that securities settlement was not the bank's core business," the RBNZ said in a statement.

The NZClear System has 124 members in New Zealand and Australia with around NZ$198 billion of securities held in the New Zealand Central Securities Depository, and handles around 1300 transactions per day equating to nearly NZ$7.5 billion dollars in daily transaction value.

But the statement makes it plain that the NZClear system (formerly known as Austraclear) requires "significant investment or replacement".
 
RBNZ deputy governor Geoff Bascand said in the statement that RBNZ was "keen to see if another specialist operator can provide securities settlement and depository services that meet both the bank's requirements and those that the market has become accustomed to."

Bascand said the NZClear system had "led the innovation to move from manual processes to electronic services. We believe that market solutions are now available and that they offer potential for further development and innovation."
 
The bank would provide regular briefings to NZClear members on the sale process, Bascand said. Expressions of interest are requested by 23 June, but the RBNZ has a back-up plan should no suitable buyers come forward.

"We have been exploring system replacement solutions, in the event we are unable to find a suitable alternative provider," Bascand said. 
 
"Our earlier Request for Information for Payment and Settlement Systems confirmed our view that a range of systems are available that would potentially meet the Bank's requirement, if needed."