Conduct of financial institutions review

Submissions are now closed on the conduct of financial institutions review.

We received 85 submissions on the Conduct of financial institutions review options paper.

If you have any questions about the submissions or the review more generally, please email financialconduct@mbie.govt.nz.

• Read the submissions(external link)

About the consultation

Recent reports from the Financial Markets Authority and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand have highlighted failures in how conduct risk is managed in the financial sector, particularly among banks and life insurers.

We want to ensure that conduct and culture in the financial sector is delivering good outcomes for all customers.

The key problems that have been identified include:

• An imbalance of power between financial institutions and consumers.
• Some products are not designed with good customer outcomes in mind.
• Sales are prioritised over good customer outcomes.
• There are weak systems and controls to manage conduct risk.
• There is a lack of accountability to ensure good conduct.

We have a broad range of options that we want your feedback on. This includes:

• Overarching duties to govern the conduct of financial institutions
• Executive accountability for breaches of any new legal duties
• A legal duty regarding how insurance claims are handled
• Measures to address conflicted remuneration
• Measures to ensure financial products are suitable for customers
• A robust enforcement package.

Review of insurance contract law

You may also be interested in the review of insurance contract law which is currently underway. 

Find out more and make a submission