The Financial Services Council has outlined its strategy and key areas of focus as it navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, and although insurance and financial services may not be ‘first responders’, it says the importance of the sector cannot be understated at such an uncertain time.
Rob Flannagan, FSC council chair says the sector has a strong responsibility to fulfil its contracted promises, and the FSC has identified five major ‘pillars’ to focus on in the coming months, which should be involved in the decisions made by members, regulators and customers.
“The key to all of this is trust, so we need to be very conscious that a lot of people are relying on our judgement and our service delivery,” Flannagan said. “The question we all have to keep asking ourselves is how to do the right thing for all of New Zealand, because that’s where our sustainability is as we go forward.”
“We achieve our strategic intent through five pillars. The first policy and advocacy, and we have a very close relationship with the regulators and government,” he continued.
“We’re almost having daily engagement with the regulators, and the team is fully involved. We have earned a level of trust with the regulators, and we need to treat that as something very precious because we can lose that very quickly.
“The next pillar is industry leadership and insight, and our role is bringing all our research and IP together.
“The third and fourth pillars are the community of professionals, and I can’t emphasise enough that our members are our strength. Everything we do has to be done professionally, because the economy is relying on it and all New Zealanders are relying on us being successful.”
Flannagan says the final pillar will be about developing the FSC as an organisation, and making sure it is equipped to deal with the changing needs of members and customers. He says now is a crucial time for industry organisations to be a voice for the sector, and to ensure that everyone at all levels is stepping up for their customers.
“The last pillar is about being agile and changing in line with the expectations of New Zealanders,” he said.
“We’ve tried to step up over the last month because of the environment that we’re in.
“We want to make sure that we are the voice of New Zealand financial services, and all of this aligns to our vision.”
