Cross-sector thematic review on governance
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) - Te Pūtea Matua and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko will jointly be conducting a cross-sector thematic review on governance.
About the review
The review will focus on boards of regulated entities and their ability to effectively govern and provide oversight. The RBNZ and FMA expect their regulated entities to have effective boards that make sound judgements in the best interest of the entity and in the interest of key stakeholders.
This will be an exploratory review into the structure and operational practices of boards to determine their effectiveness. The review will also help us develop and maintain a good working knowledge of board practices and their adherence to our governance expectations. This, in turn, will let us share good practices and recommend improvements within and across sectors.
Objectives
The main objectives of the thematic review are to:
- understand and gain insights into the structure, processes and operational practices of boards
- identify and promote effective board practices as well as areas for improvement within and across sectors
- examine how boards and individual directors adhere to our expectations on key governance areas, as set out in relevant RBNZ and FMA guidelines and legislation.
Sample
The sample for the thematic review comprises of 29 entities from across four sectors: banking, insurance, non-bank deposit taking and investment management sectors. These were selected so the sample is representative across the different sectors. The RBNZ and FMA will keep the sample confidential.
Approach to the review
The thematic review will comprise of offsite and onsite phases. The offsite phase will involve reviews of questionnaires and relevant information provided by sampled entities. The onsite phase will involve interviews with board and committee members and senior executives of each entity.
Feedback and reporting
Once the thematic review is completed, we will provide specific feedback to each entity that participated in the review and publish a joint thematic report. This report will not identify participants, and findings will not be attributable to a particular entity.
Timeline
We expect to complete the thematic review by the third quarter of 2023.
Current status
Onsite visits for all entities participating in the review is now complete. We have commenced the review and analysis of the information collected.
Contacts
Fazeena Hussain
Adviser, Industry Insights and Thematics, RBNZ
[email protected]
Charis Danieli
Senior Adviser, Supervision, FMA
[email protected]