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Nick Kynoch, General Counsel
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We also received a favourable outcome in the Supreme Court, following a judicial review of our powers brought by ANZ. This matter saw us before the High Court, the Court of AppeaI and the Supreme Court.
The past month also saw Mr Rene Moorby, a director of a company which falsely represented it was registered on the Financial Service Providers Register, convicted and sentenced to community service for breaches of his obligations; a decision from the Financial Advisers Disciplinary Committee following a referral by the FMA; and civil proceedings filed in relation to alleged market manipulation. In addition, Messrs Bublitz, McKay and Blackwood were sentenced, following their criminal convictions, for their respective roles in misleading investors and misappropriating funds in relation to Mutual Finance.
As a risk-based regulator, we need to respond to conduct that harms investors and the integrity of the markets. We have recently reviewed our enforcement approach to ensure we remain focused on the right areas and are using the appropriate regulatory response to compliance issues and misconduct.
We will continue to use the full range of tools available to us to achieve our regulatory objectives. While we will remain proportionate and flexible in the use of our powers, a more robust enforcement response is likely where firms have failed to meet their obligations, given the growing maturity of the regulatory regime and the clear expectations that we have set. Court-based sanctions may not always be our first choice, but neither are we shy of using litigation to provide credible deterrence for poor conduct.
Nick Kynoch
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AML/CFT Monitoring report
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We’ve published a monitoring report on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). The report sets out the areas requiring further attention by the management and boards of the AML/CFT reporting entities supervised by the FMA. Issues highlighted in the report include:
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AML/CFT programmes have not been reviewed or updated to align with the business’s current practices
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AML/CFT risk assessments are not updated when changes in risks occur
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Customer due diligence (including enhanced due diligence and ongoing account monitoring) remains problematic for reporting entities.
The report covers the period from 1st July 2016 to 30 June 2018. During this period, the FMA issued 18 formal AML/CFT warnings, including one public warning. Details of the FMA’s future monitoring focus are also set out in the report.
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Share this! is our newly released guide to the nuts and bolts of choosing, buying, owning and selling shares.
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The guide provides an unbiased, independent overview to enable people to be better informed about investing in shares and understanding the risks involved.
We want to help New Zealanders choose and use investment products, such as shares, as part of our focus on improving investor capability. The guide was developed with input from the NZX and the NZ Shareholders Association.
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Update on FMA/RBNZ Bank Conduct and Culture review
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Following our review of conduct and culture, the 11 banks involved have provided their responses to individual feedback letters. We will now begin working through the responses. We expect this process to take several weeks, bearing in mind the break for Easter.
Life insurers reviewed as part of the second stage of the conduct and culture review have until the end of June to provide their feedback and response plans.
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Last week, the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill (FSLAB) received Royal Assent – changing the rules for how financial advice is provided to retail clients. This means that from the start of the new regime, advisers can only give advice to retail clients if they operate under a financial advice provider licence. Advisers can hold their own licence, or work on behalf of someone else who holds a licence.
There will be two phases to the licensing process – transitional and full. At this stage, the earliest we will start accepting transitional licence applications is three months after the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs approves the new Code of Conduct for Financial Advice. We expect this to be some time in quarter four, 2019 but we will keep you informed as dates become more certain. For a reminder of what’s changing and why, see ‘About the changes’.
We’ve recently updated our FAQs to reflect the questions we have been asked at the recent Financial Services Council summits. If you have further questions, email us at questions@fma.govt.nz or call us on 0800 434 567.
Licensed financial advice provider obligations
Last month, we explained who needs a licence to provide financial advice under the new regime. Our latest information sheet helps advisers consider their options by explaining the obligations of a financial advice provider.
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New appointments to our Board and executive committee
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Mark Todd, Member, LLB Hons
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We are also pleased to confirm two new appointments to our Executive Committee. Louise Nicholson had joined the executive team as Director of External Communications and Investor Capability, and Scott McMurray has been appointed as Director of Strategy and Stakeholder Relations. Find out more about our people and what we do.
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We're Hiring
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Join a vibrant and dynamic team that embraces work-life balance, a commitment to employee wellbeing, and opportunities for learning and development.
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