The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has published its annual report for the year to 30 June 2025, alongside its annual Ease of Doing Business (EODB) report. The releases set out the regulator’s strategic objectives and core functions, report on delivery against performance expectations, and show improved stakeholder perceptions of FMA communications and engagement while highlighting continued concerns about systems and processes. The annual report outlines four strategic objectives: evolving an outcomes-focused approach, evolving an intelligence-led approach, deterring harmful unregulated activities, and deterring misleading and deceptive practices. It highlights work including publishing its approach to outcomes-focused regulation and a Financial Conduct Report on regulatory priorities, expanding engagement through industry and consumer roundtables, progressing a FinTech Sandbox programme, preparing for the transfer of responsibility for the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, and preparing to bed in the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024. It also cites the introduction of the Conduct of Financial Institutions legislation extending conduct regulation to day-to-day banking and insurance providers, class and individual exemptions aimed at avoiding unnecessary regulatory burden, and enforcement activity including an insider trading prosecution over the sale of Pushpay shares. Financially, the net deficit was lower than budgeted due to higher-than-expected revenue and lower overall operating expenditure, and the FMA achieved or substantially achieved 9 of 12 statement of performance expectations. The 2025 EODB survey received 599 responses (25% response rate, versus 133 and 19% in 2024) and was weighted by stakeholder group size. It reported improved results across several measures, including clarity and effectiveness of FMA communications rising to 74% (from 63% in 2024) and an overall belief that FMA actions help raise standards of market conduct and integrity at 82%, below the stated 90% target. Agreement that the FMA develops and implements streamlined systems and processes for licensed entities remained low at 55% (48% in 2024), with “ease of doing business with the FMA” improving to 56% (from 53%). The FMA said work is underway to modernise and automate systems, including simplifying and automating exemption request processes, introducing AI-powered website search, progressing single licensing for entities holding multiple licences, and further AI-enabled enhancements to online services, while noting survey results showed a drop in stakeholder confidence and perceptions of market integrity with mixed views on the preferred regulatory balance.

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