On September 15, 2020, New Zealand's Minister for Climate Change announced that New Zealand will be the first country in the world to require the financial sector to report on climate risks.

The regulations have been signed off and released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Keeping on top of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism obligations.

The power is conferred by section 34 of the Financial Markets Authority Act, with a new emphasis on civil enforcement.

The FMA has issued a consultation paper on the calculation of total fees to be disclosed in KiwiSaver annual statements.

This is a detailed analysis of the applicable legislative and regulatory regime and of local and international case law.

An outcome of COVID-19 has been the decision to remove Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) requirements for the next 12 months.

An officials’ paper has just been released which proposes a zero percent tax rate for non-residents investing in a PIE in respect of foreign-sourced income.

The final detailed FMCA disclosure requirements do reflect improvements from the most recent consultative round.

ASIC has identified weaknesses in Initial Public Offering (IPO) practices in Australia, which may relate in New Zealand.

While the MOU is useful, the lack of clarity around the roles of the two regulators remains.

Financial service providers wanting to go on the FSPR will need to provide more than mere administrative services in NZ.

New Zealand financial institutions' FATCA obligations are clarified with today's signing of a NZ/US agreement.

FBU was found not in breach of its continuous disclosure obligations in the management of previous earnings downgrades.

A new Financial Advertising Code (Code) will replace the existing Code for Financial Advertising effective 1 March 2022 for new, and 1 June 2022 for all existing, financial advertising captured.

Financial services licence holders must comply with these FMA changes to protect against cyber and technology risks.

It has become harder to obtain bank funding to carry out property developments or to buy commercial investment properties.

Chapman Tripp has lodged two submissions on the Financial Markets (Regulators and KiwiSaver) Bill – one on the financial markets aspects and the other on the KiwiSaver changes.

These proposals aim to increase certainty, provide assistance to company directors, and further protect jobs and income.

Acquire more than 50 shareholders and you may become subject to the Takeovers Code and the Financial Reporting Act.