From climate reporting relief to insider trading guidance and custody asset reviews, this month’s FMA Update is packed with insights to help you stay informed and prepared.
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FMA Update
27 November 2025
Update on the single licence initiative
The Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill, now before Parliament, will require the FMA to issue one licence for firms offering multiple market services under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
Clare Bolingford, FMA Executive Director Licensing and Conduct Supervision, explains:
“Once the Bill is passed and comes into effect, firms won’t need separate licences for each service. Instead, they’ll have a single licence covering all market services they are authorised to provide. This change will make compliance easier and streamline FMA processes.”
What’s planned?
• One licence application for multiple services
• A single annual regulatory return
• Consistent standard conditions for all market services
• One process for reporting changes to directors and senior managers
“We're making the transition process as seamless as possible. For firms offering only one service, the impact will be small. For multi-service firms, compliance will be much simpler. If you currently hold multiple licences for different market services these will be combined into a single licence automatically. You’ll move to one unified licence that covers all your services without needing to reapply.
“Changes won’t happen immediately or all at once. We’ll keep licensees informed, consult on proposed conditions and allow time to adapt before implementation."
Entities affected by climate reporting changes granted ‘no action’ relief
Entities affected by recently announced climate reporting changes will no longer be expected to lodge climate statements ahead of legislation changes.
FMA Executive Director Evaluation and Oversight Liam Mason said: “We recognise that many entities preparing for upcoming climate reporting periods will be impacted by the uncertain timeframe in which the amending legislation might be passed, meaning they do not know whether they will be required to lodge climate statements or not.”
The FMA will provide interim relief in the form of taking a ‘no action’ approach to affected entities that are expecting their climate reporting obligations to cease once the legislation is passed.
Tangible differences evident in FMA Annual Report and Ease of Doing Business Survey
We have published our Annual Report for the year to 30 June 2025, alongside the findings from our 2025 Ease of Doing Business Survey.
The Annual Report details activity that contributed to the FMA’s strategic objectives (evolving our outcomes-focused approach, evolving our intelligence-led approach, deterring harmful unregulated activities and deterring misleading and deceptive practices) and core functions (licensing, monitoring and supervision, investigation and enforcement, policy and guidance).
FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass said: "This year has seen tangible differences made in the pursuit of our statutory purpose of promoting and facilitating the development of fair, efficient and transparent financial markets.”
“We have achieved or substantially achieved 9 out of 12 SPE performance measure targets. Our targets and our performance were raised so in some cases we did not meet our targets despite improved performance.
“Where we have not achieved our targets, we will focus to continue to lift our results.”
Our annual Ease of Doing Business report surveys stakeholders and industry participants to understand the effectiveness of their interactions with the FMA, and their views on FMA’s overall effectiveness in delivering its mandate. The survey forms part of our reporting on our performance measures.
“After a decline across a number of key indicators in 2024’s survey and a year of hard work and extensive industry engagement, we are pleased to see better results from this year’s survey.
“We are on track, and aim to continue this momentum, reflecting on feedback received from the survey and from stakeholders throughout the year to further enhance our industry engagement.”
Supporting stronger practice against insider trading
We have published an information sheet to support stronger practice against insider trading across the investment industry.
Executive Director for Response and Enforcement Louise Unger said, “This information sheet is informed by industry feedback on the FMA’s approach following inquiries made by the FMA earlier in the year into the trading conduct of two institutional investors.
“The FMA decided to take an educative approach, rather than an intervention, to clarify for industry how the insider trading prohibitions may apply in these types of circumstances.”
Annual Audit Quality Monitoring Report published
We have published our latest Audit Quality Monitoring Report, providing a snapshot of our monitoring of audit firms.
The 2024/25 report provides information for directors and auditors to assist with driving and maintaining improvements in audit quality, highlighting areas of strength as well as those where additional focus and improvement are needed.
FMA Head of Audit, Financial Reporting, and Climate Related Disclosures Jacco Moison said: “The focus for this year's reviews was on whether firms appropriately designed and performed procedures to test the effectiveness of their quality management systems, as well as how they complied with auditing and assurance standards for the audit files reviewed.”
Update on our review of regulatory settings for custody of assets
We know that robust client asset protection promotes confidence in our regulatory environment and growth of capital markets, so we are reviewing the regulatory settings for custodians. We are currently in the scoping stage of this project.
Over the past few months, we have been doing research and having informal discussions with some firms to seek feedback on any risks, issues and areas for improvement, so we can explore options to strengthen regulatory protection for custody of client assets. These discussions have provided us with valuable insights.
In early 2026 we plan to publish a discussion document that will set out our initial thinking and questions for public consultation.
We welcome feedback at any stage of this project. You can get in touch with us at consultation@fma.govt.nz.
Updated Identity Verification Code of Practice ready for consultation
The Minister of Internal Affairs has directed the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to prepare an updated Identity Verification Code of Practice (IVCOP) under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act).
IVCOP was last updated in 2013 and is being reviewed to ensure modern identification practices and technologies are supported. The review will ensure IVCOP supports the use of digital identity solutions, reduces regulatory burden for reporting entities subject to the AML/CFT Act, and offers further options for members of the public seeking to have their identity verified. It will also consider whether the current system is suitably risk-based or could be improved.
The three AML supervisors (FMA, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the DIA) have drafted a discussion paper and are now publicly consulting on the proposed changes to IVCOP. The consultation will be open between 20 November 2025 and 19 January 2026.
The review and update of the IVCOP is one part of a wider government programme to reform New Zealand’s AML/CFT system.
To find out more go to the AML section on the DIA website. For further queries or to book in an info session email amlcft@dia.govt.nz.
Christchurch visit
FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass and Director Deposit Taking, Insurance and Advice Michael Hewes met with 28 financial advisers and 11 chief executives from FMC licensed entities in Christchurch on Wednesday.
“We heard from the Ease of Doing Business survey that industry saw value in the FMA understanding the views of those across the country, which I wholeheartedly agree with,” Samantha said. “It is always great to go back to the city I grew up in. I enjoyed meeting with the financial advisers in the morning and the chief executives from some of our licensed entities in the afternoon.”
Engaging on CCCFA
Lenders from across the motu came together in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and online for important conversations about the upcoming transfer of Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) responsibilities to the FMA. The roadshow was hosted jointly by the FMA and the Commerce Commission.
The Commerce Commission shared insights into the history of the CCCFA and the collaborative work underway to make the transition seamless.
FMA experts then outlined what’s ahead, including an introduction to the FMA, what licensing involves, how our supervision will work and our approach to response and enforcement.
Licensing and Conduct Supervision Executive Director Clare Bolingford said: “These engagements are critical as we work hand-in-hand with the Commerce Commission to deliver a smooth transition and give our stakeholders absolute confidence in what’s coming next.”
The online session recording and slides are available on our website.
This is just the beginning of a series of conversations designed to keep industry informed and prepared for the changes ahead. Any questions can be sent to creditfunctiontransfer@comcom.govt.nz.
FMA at the Fraud Prevention Summit
FMA’s Head of Evidence and Investigations Rachael Manttan, and Head of Enforcement Margot Gatland gave a keynote address at this year’s Fraud Prevention Summit, held jointly by KordaMentha and Meredith Connell. With the theme of ‘empowering vigilance’, the summit was attended by more than 100 senior leaders from law enforcement, government, and industry. Rachael and Margot spoke about the FMA’s role in addressing suspected financial market misconduct, including fraud, the factors that guide our case selection and decisions about regulatory tools we apply.
Market manipulation case for trading of STU shares
In early October we filed High Court civil proceedings against Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, an experienced retail investor based in Auckland, for alleged market manipulation of NZX-listed shares of Steel and Tube Holdings Limited (STU).
Our case centres on orders for STU’s shares that Mr Belgiorno-Nettis made between November 2020 and July 2023 via two broking accounts he held with ASB Securities.
We allege that Mr Belgiorno-Nettis’ orders repeatedly impacted the closing prices of STU shares and were likely to have the effect of creating a false or misleading appearance of trading. The orders lacked a genuine commercial purpose, and we believe that Mr Belgiorno-Nettis deliberately took actions to increase or maintain the price of STU shares for his personal advantage at a time when he held a substantial shareholding in the company.
Former financial adviser pleads guilty to breaching stop order
Former financial adviser David McEwen has entered guilty pleas to all charges relating to breaching a stop order imposed by the FMA and is scheduled for sentencing on 14 January.
David McEwen was based in Auckland and operated various associated entities. We have previously issued warnings about financial products and related advice provided by Mr McEwen (or associated entities).
Meet the team – Data and Evidence
Our Response and Enforcement function is made up of the teams that assess and address conduct that poses serious harm to New Zealanders, as well as our specialist supervision teams, which supervise, monitor and deal with conduct related to regulatory obligations that apply across multiple sectors. We are introducing these teams, sharing more about the work they do as well as the impact they hope their work will have. You can read more about the teams we have already profiled here.
This month we are introducing the Data and Evidence team, which plays an essential role in supporting the FMA’s regulatory and enforcement functions.
They are responsible for the secure handling, management and analysis of evidential material collected during investigations and regulatory activities. They ensure all evidence is logged, tracked, and stored in accordance with strict chain-of-custody protocols.
If you have any questions about their work, you can email questions@fma.govt.nz.
There has been a rise in fraudulent lending offers as the holiday season approaches. Scammers are targeting consumers via social media, phone, text and messaging apps with promises of guaranteed approval, no checks, and low interest rates. Some impersonate legitimate financial service providers. Consumers risk financial loss, and providers face reputational harm.
What financial service providers can do:
- Monitor online for misuse of your brand
- Educate clients on identifying and verifying genuine offers
- Report impersonations and scams to the FMA and relevant platforms to help prevent further harm
For more information read Beware of loan scams during festive seasons.
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