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Insurance and banking bosses will be called to come to Parliament to front up to MPs, it has been revealed.
Chairman of Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee Michael Wood, in a report from interest.co.nz, said he will be requesting the sector’s top brass to show up before Parliament. Doing so, he said, is an appropriate step, given the “significant public interest” in the conduct and operations of the financial sector.
On May 30, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) briefed the Finance and Expenditure Committee that there’s no evidence of widespread, systemic issues to warrant a commission of inquiry in the country. The regulators have also started their inquiry into life insurance companies.
The findings by the New Zealand regulators are expected to be out in October/November.
“What has influenced my view that we need to proceed with the process at this stage, is firstly that it’s going to be a little while before we hear back from the RBNZ and the FMA,” Wood told the publication. “I think if we were going to get a quicker response – and that’s not a criticism of the RBNZ and FMA – but if we were, then we would have been less likely to go through this process.”
Wood also reportedly said that the committee was “very satisfied” with the regulators’ presentation in May.
Moreover, the chairman told the publication other parties like bank workers’ union First Union, the Banking Ombudsman, the NZ Bankers’ Association and Consumer New Zealand, will also be asked to present to the committee. Further details, including a timeframe, will be discussed by next week.
