The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has welcomed an independent review on the advice provided to the minister of commerce and consumer affairs regarding the appointment of default KiwiSaver providers in 2021.
The review, conducted by Kristy McDonald QC, found that the FMA Cchief Eexecutive at the time, Rob Everett, had proactively disclosed a conflict of interest with one of the providers and, as a result, did not participate in the process. The review also found that the conflict of interest did not have any impact on the advice the FMA provided to the Mminister regarding the appointment of default KiwiSaver providers.
According to McDonald, the FMA’s role in the process was limited to advising on whether there were any regulatory compliance issues that may affect the ability of the proposed KiwiSaver fund managers to act as default providers.
While the review concluded that there were lapses in how FMA managed the conflict of interest was managed, this had no impact or influence on the advice the FMA provided to the mMinister regarding the appointment of default KiwiSaver providers.
The review also proposed several changes to FMA’s processes in handling conflicts of interest.
“As the primary conduct regulator of the financial sector, the FMA’s integrity must be beyond reproach,” said FMA chief executive Samantha Barrass. “We set high standards for ourselves and are implementing all the recommendations.”
