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FMA Update
30 September 2025
A focus on complaints
FMA research has found fewer than one-third of people are confident that they know how to make a complaint about their financial service provider. And those who said they would have liked to complain but didn’t, cited barriers such as doubts about the outcome, not knowing how to complain, and perceptions of difficulty.
FMA Director - Deposit Taking, Insurance and Advice, Michael Hewes says all financial service providers need to ensure consumers know how to make a complaint, how their complaints will be dealt with and where to go if they are unsatisfied with the result.
An information sheet published today says financial service providers should be visible, easy to complain to, accessible, fair, transparent and proactive when dealing with complaints. They should show that lessons learned from complaints are integrated into their business processes to improve outcomes for all consumers.
“Companies are burying complaints processes deep on their websites, requiring details a customer may not have to hand and treating customers in a defensive and dismissive way.
“We strongly encourage companies to review their complaints processes to ensure they are easily accessible for consumers and fit for purpose.
“The findings in our research support the FMA’s focus on ensuring complaints processes are accessible, fair, and effective, not only by making it easy to complain, but also by understanding and addressing the reasons some consumers don’t.”
Complaints are a key focus of the Financial Conduct Report, which outlines the FMA’s priorities for the year. One of those priorities is ensuring customers are treated fairly when things go wrong.
Key questions for providers:
Can you point to how you are set up to resolve complaints, so that customers feel listened to and treated fairly?
Do you have processes in place to take on board lessons learnt from complaints?
Are your complaints processes well signposted?
Are customers given the impression that you welcome the opportunity to put things right and understand where to improve?
Are customers satisfied with the process, is it handled well, communicated well, is it easy to understand, fair and balanced, and is any necessary remediation happening in a timely way?
Are you looking at the bigger picture of the complaints data you collate? Is it being analysed for systemic issues or recurring pain points with customers? How is that fed back into your decision making?
More on complaints in our latest 5mins with the FMA podcast:
KiwiSaver Annual Report 2025 - resilience in tough economic times
FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass at the Financial Services Council conference.
The FMA’s latest KiwiSaver Annual Report shows the retirement savings scheme is resilient amidst volatility and uncertainty.
Total funds under management grew 10% to $123 billion, driven by $12.2 billion in contributions, and $6.4 billion in net investment returns.
Announcing its publication at the Financial Services Council (FSC) conference, FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass said, “There is probably no other financial product that is so closely associated to the future financial wellbeing of New Zealanders as KiwiSaver.
“This year’s annual report shows KiwiSaver has become a trusted scheme that is firmly recognised as the primary retirement savings strategy for most New Zealanders.”
Samantha also highlighted some areas for improvement.
She noted that 30% of working-age members aren’t contributing - up from 20% in 2010. Even among active choice members, 1.2 million aren’t currently contributing. This trend raises concerns about long-term inequality in retirement outcomes, especially as financial pressures grow and hardship withdrawals increase.
“We remain concerned about the long-term opportunity cost of foregoing retirement contributions. If this trend continues, we risk a stark inequality between the contributing and non-contributing members of our national retirement scheme.”
Samantha emphasised the industry’s role in lifting contributions. Default providers have obligations to engage with members throughout their savings journey, including during volatility and after savings suspensions. Sharing tools and options helps members plan better for retirement.
Other highlights from Samantha Barrass' speech included the role of AI in financial services and the FMA's fintech sandbox pilot.
High Court provides clarity on wholesale investor rules
The FMA welcomes the clarity provided by a High Court ruling on the rules qualifying “eligible investors” as wholesale.
Clarification was sought from the High Court on the interpretation of the eligible investor exclusion under the Financial Markets Conduct Act in respect of the use, confirmation, and acceptance, of eligible investor certificates in the wholesale investment sector.
Financial Advice Provider regulatory returns – submissions close today
Financial Advice Providers - have you submitted your regulatory return?
All licensed Financial Advice Providers (FAPs) must submit an annual regulatory return as part of licensing conditions. The submission period closes today (30 September).
If you have not already submitted your FAP regulatory return please use the FMA Online Services portal:
https://www.fma.govt.nz/business/online-services to complete the return.
Frequently asked questions and an information sheet on regulatory returns can be found on FAP regulatory returns page.
Find out more about regulatory returns in our 5 mins with the FMA podcast:
Tokenisation in NZ financial markets - have your say
The FMA is seeking your views and feedback on our discussion document looking at the current and future potential of tokenisation in New Zealand’s financial markets.
We want to gather insights into market barriers and opportunities for tokenisation in New Zealand’s domestic markets, to explore whether regulatory settings are helping or hindering responsible innovation, and what the FMA could do to support innovation, improve regulatory certainty, and enhance consumer protection.
We plan to use insights to inform our regulatory approach and depending on market feedback, may make law reform recommendations to the Government.
Submissions must be sent to consultation@fma.govt.nz by 5pm Friday 31 October 2025.
The FMA is seeking feedback on our draft guidance for financial products with ethical characteristics. The updated guidance will help issuers consider how they present ethical claims about their products in disclosures and advertising.
Refreshing our guidance is a key priority for the FMA, as outlined in the Financial Conduct Report, which lists our regulatory priorities for the current year.
We want to hear from industry participants about whether our guidance is useful and will help them be clearer in their disclosure practices.
Submissions must be sent to consultation@fma.govt.nz by 5pm Friday 7 November 2025.
Proposed class exemption for entities incorporated in foreign jurisdictions from New Zealand climate reporting duties
The FMA is considering an exemption from Financial Markets Conduct Act climate reporting duties for some foreign climate reporting entities, who would instead lodge their home jurisdiction climate or sustainability reports on the New Zealand Climate-related Disclosures Register.
Submissions must be sent to consultation@fma.govt.nz by 5pm Friday 24 October 2025.
Class exemption for entities in liquidation, receivership, voluntary administration
An exemption has now been granted to provide relief for certain FMC reporting entities. The relief comprises a class exemption for five years for each entity incorporated in New Zealand that is in liquidation, receivership or voluntary administration from certain duties in Part 7 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act, comprising:
FMC reporting entities in liquidation – comprehensive relief
FMC reporting entities in receivership or voluntary administration – deferral relief applies for the reporting year in which the receivership or voluntary administration appointment is made and for the next reporting period.
The exemption notice does not apply in relation to registered schemes.
New AML/CFT guidance published
The three AML/CFT supervisors - the FMA, Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs - have published new joint guidance.
The first joint guidance is on customer due diligence, separated into guidance for sole traders and partnerships, co-operatives, and clubs and societies.
Read the guidance on customer due diligence
They have also published joint guidance in relation to designated business groups.
Insights into new accounting standard
The FMA has recently published insights from our review of the implementation of NZ IFRS 17 by New Zealand insurers. This is a newly introduced accounting standard for all categories of insurance contracts.
It is a significant change in the way insurance contracts are reported, aimed at enhancing transparency, consistency and comparability across the industry.
The new standard sets out principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of insurance contracts, applicable for reporting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2023.
Our reviews found that overall, the quality of the disclosures was good. We did identify some areas for improvement, which are outlined in the document.
Got a question: We're here to help!
Can you explain why the FMA does consultations and how the process works?
From Manager, Regulatory Policy Alice Jackson and Head of Regulatory Policy Lucy Ellis:
At the FMA, consultation is a cornerstone of our approach to developing effective, practical and robust policy and guidance.
We consult with industry for a range of reasons. It can be a regulatory or a legal requirement – for example, if we’re proposing to impose conditions or grant exemptions. It can be that we are trying to gather information to inform our policy development. Or it could be about natural justice when making a decision that affects a person’s rights, obligations, or interests.
We need to be sure that our regulatory expectations are clear, workable and don’t cause unnecessary compliance costs for market participants. By engaging with businesses, industry groups, and other stakeholders, we can identify potential issues, unintended consequences and opportunities for improvement.
We strive to ensure that consultations are proportionate to the significance of the policy or guidance being developed. We also aim to be thoughtful about the timing of our consultations (and the time for responses) to avoid overloading firms.
Consultation methods can range from formal written submissions to workshops, round tables or direct conversations with key stakeholders. We tailor our approach depending on the subject matter, audience and urgency of the issue. Consultations are posted on our website, clearly describing the issues and the feedback we’re asking for.
After a public consultation, we generally publish either a summary or all feedback we receive and the names of submitters (unless confidentiality is requested). Your feedback makes a difference. We frequently make changes to our proposals as a result of feedback.
If we make significant changes to our original proposal, we may undertake further consultation. For major policy decisions, we publish a regulatory impact statement, giving transparency and accountability about the process.
Consultation ultimately leads to better outcomes for both market participants and consumers.
We often feature questions received during industry interactions or sent to us directly.
Do you have a question about regulations or what the FMA does? Simply email your question to questions@fma.govt.nz with "FMA Update" in the subject line.
AI, deepfakes and cybersecurity webinar
The FMA is a featured guest in a special webinar about artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes as part of Cyber Smart Week 2025. This is one of a series of webinars to help people understand more about how to protect themselves, their businesses and customers online.
AI is evolving rapidly, and so are its real-world impacts. In this session, speakers will explore how AI works, where the technology is heading, and the powerful ways it’s already being used across industries.
Featuring FMA Senior Adviser Elizabeth Asmerom Asfaha, the webinar will also include practical advice for building resilience in an AI - driven world, with clear actions individuals and organisations can take to stay informed, prepared, and protected.
Webinar: Wednesday 8 October, 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Find out more Cyber Smart Week 2025 webinar series - Own Your Online
FMA Head of Enforcement Margot Gatland
ANZ admits to making misleading statements and makes payment of $3.25m
ANZ has admitted breaching fair dealing laws in an Enforceable Undertaking and has agreed to pay a total of $3.25 million to the Crown, in lieu of a pecuniary penalty.
FMA Head of Enforcement Margot Gatland said, “ANZ self-reported two fair dealing breaches to us. We have investigated further and confirmed that it breached the FMC Act in two instances.
The first breach was for wrongly applying fees and interest to customers’ accounts for unarranged overdrafts.
The second breach involved ANZ claiming repayment of mortgage incentives previously given to customers when it should not have.
ANZ agreed to make payments in lieu of pecuniary penalties pursuant to an Enforceable Undertaking, of $2,080,000 in respect of the overdraft fee representations and $1,170,000 in respect of the cash contribution representations.
“It is essential that customers can continue to have confidence in their bank,” said Margot. “We will continue to respond to misleading practices to help ensure New Zealand has fair, efficient and transparent financial markets.”
CoFI resource updates
We have made some minor updates to our CoFI (Conduct of Financial Institutions) resources.
We have updated the Financial Institution Licence Application Guide and the Fair Conduct Programme information sheets to reflect the Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Act 2022 (CoFI Act) coming into force earlier this year. References to the CoFI Act in these documents have been replaced with references to the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
These updates are technical amendments only, and there is no change to the obligations for financial institutions.
Check your bank statements - warning for former McEwen clients
We have received complaints from clients of former Auckland-based financial adviser David McEwen concerning possible unauthorised credit and debit card payments.
FMA Executive Director for Response and Enforcement Louise Unger said: “Former or existing clients of McEwen and associated entities or subscribers to the publication ‘McEwen Investment Report’ are advised to check their credit and debit card statements for possible unauthorised payments.
“If a charge has been made to cards without your authority, we advise you to contact your credit card company or bank immediately and ask about the possibility of reversing the charge, how to withdraw any expired authorities, and whether it is necessary to cancel any existing cards.
Meet the team: Perimeter and Response
Our Response and Enforcement function is made up of the teams who assess and address conduct that poses harm to New Zealanders at the more significant end of the spectrum, as well as our specialist supervision teams who supervise, monitor and deal with conduct that applies across different sectors.
We are introducing these teams, sharing more about the work that they do as well as the impact they hope their work will have.
This month we are introducing the Perimeter and Response team, who manage cases referred from the FMA frontline teams where it appears there may have been material misconduct, and consider how best to intervene or respond to identified misconduct. Their remit is broad and as the FMA has finite resources, they are guided by our regulatory priorities to focus their efforts.
Their work is about digging into the facts and making sound recommendations on the use of regulatory tools to protect market integrity and make sure serious or harmful wrongdoing doesn’t go unchecked.
Catalist market operator report
We have published findings from our review of how Catalist is meeting its licensed market operator obligations, for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
The Catalist Market is intended to operate as a “stepping-stone” market for small-to medium-sized growth businesses that seek the benefits of an exchange listing.
Our overall conclusion is that Catalist has complied with its market operator obligations during the review period.
We regularly publish warnings containing the names of businesses or individuals you should be wary of if you are planning to invest
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