The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) recently announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will carry out a Financial Sector Assessment Program review in August and November 2016.
The August phase will involve review of the banking and insurance fields, and the November phase will relate to securities regulation. The IMF will coordinate with the Reserve Bank on behalf of the New Zealand Council of Financial Regulators, which includes the FMA, the Treasury, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The FMA’s terms of reference state that the review will comprise:
- A comprehensive assessment of the banking system against theBasel Core Principles;
- A comprehensive assessment of the insurance sector against the IAIS’ principles;
- A limited assessment of securities regulation, with an informal appraisal against the IOSCO principles; and
- A limited assessment of financial market infrastructure with an informal appraisal against the CPMI principles.
The FMA has stated that it will discuss with financial market participants how best to demonstrate New Zealand’s standards in this area.