Managing our assets and liabilities
Net worth has cushioned the impact of COVID‑19
COVID-19 and the Government's response has had a substantial impact on the Crown's net worth. The Crown's liabilities increased during this period, which was required by our strategy to provide support to businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Crown's net worth continues to be stronger than 2022 Budget Update forecasts. The most recent year end results show the Crown owned $501.8 billion of assets and had $327.5 billion of liabilities as of 30 June 2022, with the Crown's share of the net worth being $167 billion.
Net worth is forecast to increase by $22.8 billion over the forecast period, from $174.3 billion in 2022/23 to $197.1 billion by 2026/27 and largely reflects the forecast operating balance results (excluding minority interests). As a share of the economy, net worth is expected to fall across the forecast period, reaching 40.7 percent of GDP by 2026/27 (Figure 12).
Figure 12 – Net worth attributable to the Crown
Source: The Treasury
By the end of the forecast period, gross debt, which mostly consists of New Zealand Government Bonds and excludes Reserve Bank settlement cash and Reserve Bank bills, is expected to be $214.5 billion (44.2 percent of GDP).