The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has released a thematic review on how financial institutions conduct reviews of existing products and services, setting out good practices and areas for improvement. The FMA positions the report as guidance for continuous improvement for institutions such as insurers and deposit takers, and notes it does not create new legal obligations, while signalling that proactive product and service reviews will remain a focus of ongoing supervision. The review emphasises designing and running reviews around consumer requirements and objectives, using a risk-based and flexible review schedule, and embedding considerations of consumer vulnerability so products and services remain accessible and fair. It highlights the need to strengthen governance and board reporting, improve consumer communications about review outcomes, and establish clear processes for tracking, implementing and monitoring review actions. Across the 20 participating institutions, all confirmed they conduct reviews, but practices varied; consumer communication was inconsistent and action tracking was described as a developing area. The report also notes that off-sale and legacy products and services were often reviewed less frequently than on-sale offerings, points to heightened conduct risk from reliance on legacy technology and manual controls, and identifies that most participants did not use dispute resolution services as a source of insights.

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