By Lucy Craymer and Renju Jose

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s central bank said on Monday it was proposing to reduce the minimum capital requirement for deposit takers, and had begun consultations.

The central bank said in a statement that one key policy option is to reduce the minimum capital requirement for deposit takers to NZ$5 million ($2.93 million) from NZ$30 million.

“This reduces barriers to entry,” the statement said.

It noted in the consultations document that any shift in regulation is not expected to cause significant economic change.

The current, rising capital requirements were announced in 2019 and are being brought in slowly, with full implementation not expected before 2028.

However, the requirements have been criticized by some politicians and parts of the pub

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