Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
29 Apr 2025 - The FMA have published key takeaways from the CrowdStrike event survey, which investigated how well financial service providers were prepared for and responded to the CrowdStrike incident. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/research/key-takeaways-from-the-crowdstrike-event-survey/
1 May 2025 - The RBNZ has published its response to submissions on three of the four core standards that set the prudential requirements deposit takers will need to meet in order to be licensed under the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA). The response covers liquidity, disclosure, and Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) related requirements. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/reserve-bank-publishes-response-to-deposit-taker-core-standards-consultation
1 May 2025 - Cabinet has agreed to designate banking as the first sector under the Customer and Product Data Act. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/better-banking-competition-one-step-closer-kiwis
2 May 2025 - Westpac is to pay a penalty of $3.25 million for misleading customers entitled to advertised discounts as well as overcharging some of its business customers. Westpac admitted its conduct in civil proceedings brought by the FMA at the High Court in Auckland in December 2024. Westpac’s breaches of the fair dealing provisions under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA) affected a total of 24,621 customers and resulted in $6.35m in overcharges. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/westpac-to-pay-3-25-million-penalty-for-misleading-customers/
5 May 2025 - The RBNZ publish a special topic from the May 2025 Financial Stability Report - Rise of the machines: How could artificial intelligence impact financial stability. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/rise-of-the-machines-how-could-artificial-intelligence-impact-financial-stability
5 May 2025 - ASIC has unveiled a new digital portal to allow applicants to apply for an Australian financial services (AFS) licence. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-launches-new-portal-for-australian-financial-services-licensees/
5 May 2025 - The FSC publish KiwiSaver Industry Spotlight March 2025. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/kiwisaver-spotlight-march-2025
5 May 2025 - The FSC publish Life Insurance Industry Spotlight March 2025. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/lifeinsurance-spotlight-march-2025
6 May 2025 - The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill had its first reading and was referred to select committee. https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/6193a33c-40d6-4354-0d5a-08dd6ff875cc?Tab=history
7 May 2025 - Risks to the financial system have increased over the past six months, Reserve Bank Governor Christian Hawkesby says in releasing the May 2025 Financial Stability Report. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/risks-to-the-financial-system-have-increased
7 May 2025 - The RBNZ is consolidating the structure of its Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The new ELT structure, which takes effect from Monday, 12 May 2025, is made up of four roles:
Assistant Governor Financial Stability
Assistant Governor Money Group
Assistant Governor Enterprise Services
Assistant Governor Operations
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/rbnz-executive-leadership-team-changes