NZ: Deposit Takers (Lending) Standard¶


Regulator	RBNZ
Jurisdiction	NZ
Status	Draft — not yet in force
Applicability	Platform

The DTA Lending Standard is a non-core standard issued under the Deposit Takers Act 2023. It consolidates the RBNZ's borrower-based macroprudential tools — loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions and debt-to-income (DTI) ratio restrictions — into a single binding standard, replacing BS19. These tools limit systemic risk from residential mortgage lending by capping the proportion of new lending that can be extended to higher-risk borrowers.

Current limits (subject to RBNZ calibration): - Owner-occupier LVR: no more than 20% of new residential mortgage lending at LVR > 80% - Investor LVR: no more than 5% of new residential mortgage lending at LVR > 65% - Owner-occupier DTI: no more than 20% of new owner-occupier lending at DTI > 6 - Investor DTI: no more than 5% of investor lending at DTI > 7

The standard also includes responsible lending obligations (suitability assessment), hardship response obligations, and loan modification requirements. The standard applies to Group 1 and Group 2 deposit takers. An exposure draft was issued in October 2025; the standard takes effect 1 December 2028.

Compliance register¶

This register maps every material obligation under the Standard to the platform control or institutional process that satisfies it. It is the static traceability layer for the Totara compliance report — dynamic data (module build status, test evidence, control test dates) is overlaid at runtime.

Scope legend¶

Symbol	Meaning
🤖 Automated	Platform enforces or performs the obligation. Primary control mode is GATE, AUTO, CALC, or ALERT. Human action is not required in the normal case.
📊 Evidenced	Platform captures the evidence trail automatically. Human compliance decision sits on top. Primary control mode is LOG.
🏛 Institutional	Obligation is met by a process entirely outside the platform — board governance, credit risk, treasury. Platform may generate evidence inputs but does not own the process.
N/A	Obligation does not apply to this deployment configuration.

Build legend¶

Symbol	Meaning
✅	Module built and deployed
🔨	Module planned — not yet built (`build_status: Not started`)
❌	Uncontrolled gap — no module attributed

LVR restrictions¶

Ref	Obligation	Scope	Policy	Platform controls	Build
LVR-1	Calculate LVR at origination using the prescribed methodology	🤖 Automated	CRE-001, CRE-005	MOD-115 (CALC) — property security and LVR management calculates LVR at origination using the registered security instrument and current property valuation; no manual calculation path	🔨
LVR-2	Block loans above the LVR speed limits (owner-occupied >80% capped at 20% of new flow; investor >65% capped at 5%)	🤖 Automated	CRE-001	MOD-115 (GATE) — loan cannot settle without LVR calculated within the applicable policy limit; the speed-limit counter is tracked in portfolio reporting and the gate is engaged when the limit is exhausted	🔨
LVR-3	Monitor LVR portfolio compliance continuously and report to RBNZ quarterly	🤖 Automated	CRE-005, REP-002	MOD-115 (CALC) — LVR band distribution produced daily for portfolio-level concentration risk reporting; MOD-036 (AUTO) — LVR band data sourced into RBNZ prudential returns automatically	🔨
LVR-4	Disclose LVR position in periodic disclosure statements	🤖 Automated	REP-002	MOD-115 (CALC) — LVR band distribution is reported in prudential returns (RBNZ BS19 replacement); MOD-036 (AUTO) — return builder populates the disclosure template	🔨

DTI restrictions¶

Ref	Obligation	Scope	Policy	Platform controls	Build
DTI-1	Calculate DTI at origination using the prescribed methodology	🤖 Automated	CRE-002	MOD-027 (CALC) — affordability calculator computes the DTI ratio using total declared income and total committed debt obligations at origination	🔨
DTI-2	Block loans above the DTI speed limits (owner-occupier DTI >6 capped at 20%; investor DTI >7 capped at 5%)	🤖 Automated	CRE-002	MOD-027 (GATE) — loan application cannot advance past affordability gate when the applicable DTI speed limit is exhausted; the gate engages automatically when the portfolio counter is hit	🔨
DTI-3	Monitor DTI portfolio compliance continuously and report to RBNZ quarterly	🤖 Automated	CRE-002, REP-002	MOD-027 (CALC) — DTI distribution produced daily; MOD-036 (AUTO) — DTI band data sourced into RBNZ prudential returns	🔨

Responsible lending and suitability¶

Ref	Obligation	Scope	Policy	Platform controls	Build
RL-1	Conduct responsible lending suitability assessment before originating a residential mortgage	🤖 Automated	CRE-002	MOD-027 (GATE) — affordability assessment is a mandatory gate; loan cannot proceed to offer without a passed assessment; assessment is automated, not agent discretion	🔨
RL-2	Disclose responsible lending information (total cost of borrowing, repayment amount) before loan acceptance	🤖 Automated	CRE-002	MOD-050 (GATE) — responsible lending disclosure shown and acknowledged before loan acceptance; no bypass path	🔨

Hardship and loan modification¶

Ref	Obligation	Scope	Policy	Platform controls	Build
HL-1	Accept and process hardship applications with a 30-day response SLA	🤖 Automated	CON-008	MOD-065 (AUTO) — credit servicing and collections module manages hardship application intake with SLA timers; breaches auto-escalate; MOD-116 (ALERT) — arrears escalation triggers a hardship flag routing the account to the financial hardship workflow before any collections action	🔨
HL-2	Apply loan modification obligations on hardship approval	🤖 Automated	CON-008	MOD-065 (AUTO) — approved hardship arrangements applied to the account automatically; modified repayment schedule updated in MOD-112 (amortisation engine)	🔨

Institutional obligations (not platform scope)¶

Obligation	Owner	Platform evidence input
LVR and DTI limit calibration and policy approval	Chief Risk Officer / ALCO	MOD-115 and MOD-027 implement the approved limits; limit values are RBNZ-set and institutionally adopted
RBNZ macroprudential consultation responses	Chief Risk Officer	MOD-115 and MOD-036 provide portfolio data for RBNZ consultation responses
Responsible lending policy design	Chief Risk Officer / Chief Compliance Officer	MOD-027 and MOD-050 implement the approved policy
Hardship response process design and staff training	Head of Credit / Chief Compliance Officer	MOD-065 routes and tracks cases; process design is institutional

Coverage summary¶

Area	Total obligations	Platform automated 🤖	Platform evidenced 📊	Institutional 🏛	N/A
LVR restrictions	4	4	0	0	0
DTI restrictions	3	3	0	0	0
Responsible lending	2	2	0	0	0
Hardship and loan modification	2	2	0	0	0
Total	11	11 (100%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

All attributed modules are currently build_status: Not started — the compliance position will update as modules are built and deployed. Controls are designed against the exposure draft and are contingent on finalisation of the standard.

Policy	Title
CRE-001	Credit Risk Policy
CRE-002	Responsible Lending Policy
CRE-005	Credit Concentration Risk Policy
CON-008	Financial Hardship Policy
REP-002	Prudential Reporting Policy

Official documentation¶

Policies referencing this standard¶

(None yet)

Compiled 2026-05-22 from source/entities/regulations/nz-dta-lending.yaml