At Te Pūtea Matua, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, we are kaitiaki (guardians) of New Zealand’s financial ecosystem, working to enable stability, economic wellbeing and prosperity for all New Zealanders. We achieve this by promoting the maintenance of a sound and efficient financial system.
Following the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 2016 review of the New Zealand financial system and the Reserve Bank’s funding agreement (2020-2025), we are building a modern and responsive regulatory model. We are establishing clear, robust, evidence-based, and fit-for-purpose legislation and regulatory frameworks. Through our more intensive supervision and enforcement activities, we are promoting sound financial institutions and increasing confidence that regulatory standards are met across New Zealand’s financial sector.
As part of our regulatory strengthening, we have established an Enforcement Department and we are developing our enforcement framework to achieve our compliance goals, increase the effectiveness of our enforcement actions, and promote confidence and consistency in our enforcement decision-making.
Our Enforcement function is operationally separate from our Supervision function, but the two work closely together to achieve our compliance goals by applying escalating regulatory responses to non-compliance.
The principles and criteria applicable to enforcement action are fundamental considerations for the enforcement framework. We are seeking feedback on the applicable principles and criteria, which are strategically high-level and reflect our current legislation.