A former senior official at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has questioned the appointment of a member of the bank’s newly empowered board.

Michael Reddell, a former special adviser and head of financial markets at the central bank, said the director, Rodger Finlay, had a clear conflict of interest.

Finlay is currently the chair of the board of New Zealand Post, the state-owned postal service. The post office is the majority shareholder in Kiwibank, a commercial bank that is regulated by the