Finance Minister Grant Robertson on why he needs more powers to restrict bank lending 26 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM 4 minutes to read Finance Minister Grant Robertson says a greater role in setting lending restrictions would enable more influence on "distributional trade-offs and societal preferences". Photo / Mark Mitchell Finance Minister Grant Robertson says a greater role in setting lending restrictions would enable more influence on "distributional trade-offs and societal preferences". Photo / Mark Mitchell Derek Cheng is a political reporter for the New Zealand Heraldderek.cheng@nzme.co.nz Greater powers for the Finance Minister to restrict lending could reduce confidence in the Reserve Bank, blur lines of accountability, and lead to inconsistent decision-making, Grant Robertson concedes.