DLA Piper submission on FMA fair outcomes consultation

The Financial Markets Authority – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko (FMA) recently closed consultation on its draft guide, “Fair outcomes for consumers and markets” (Draft Guide).

We submitted on the Draft Guide, outlining some of our concerns with the FMA’s proposed outcomes-focused approach to regulation and its effect on industry participants. Although we support ideas of fairness and good outcomes, we are concerned the approach proposed in the Draft Guide has not been considered against the costs it will impose on industry participants. Risks regulation by hindsight, introduces regulatory uncertainty, confuses existing rules and does not have a clear legal basis.

We have suggested that the FMA reframe the Draft Guide to avoid it being perceived as introducing new and uncertain rules outside the existing legal framework. We also suggest the FMA pause its implementation of the Draft Guide until the future of the conduct of financial institutions (CoFI) regime is more certain.

You can find the Draft Guide here, and our submission here.

We will provide further updates as they become available.

If you would like more information on the Draft Guide, or would like to discuss fair outcomes more generally, please get in touch.