The Commerce Minister Margaret Wilson last week announced that she was establishing a six-person task force to look at the issue of regulating financial intermediaries including mortgage brokers, insurance advisers and insurance advisers.
New Zealand Mortgage Brokers Association chairman Brian Berry says the timing of the minister’s announcement was “unexpected”.
He says the broader industry welcome it as they have been working closely together on the issue developing a possible regulatory framework in anticipation of the move.
“The government is totally focused on ensuring that best practices apply within the financial services industry, with a view to protection of the consumer,” Berry says. “The NZ Mortgage Brokers Association supports this and has been working with its members to ensure that high standards and ethics are practised by its members.”
“Ethical mortgage brokers have nothing to fear from the government’s proposed regulation of the financial intermediaries industry,” Berry says.
While Berry welcomes the move he warns that any regulation must be simple and sensible.
“It must not be a compliance nightmare.”
“The current industry associations are doing an excellent job of self-regulation and government regulation must enhance this, by preferably empowering these associations, rather than stripping power away,” he says.
