Financial Markets Authority

What Financial Markets Authority does

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is New Zealand's principal financial markets conduct regulator, established as an independent Crown entity under the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011 and headquartered in Wellington. The FMA licenses and supervises financial advice providers, financial institutions under the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime, market operators including NZX, crypto asset service providers, climate reporting entities, and—effective 1 July 2026—consumer credit providers transferred from the Commerce Commission under the amended Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act. It maintains enforcement authority under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, with recent actions including a NZ$2.6 million enforceable undertaking against Bank of New Zealand for interest miscalculation, a NZ$2.1 million High Court penalty against ASB Bank, and personal liability findings against former CBL CFO Carden Mulholland. The FMA operates a digital infrastructure comprising the myFMA secure online portal for licensing and regulatory returns, the Disclose Register for financial product offerings, and an AI-powered website search function, alongside consumer education resources and a fintech regulatory sandbox that admitted six firms from 24 applicants between December 2024 and May 2026.

The FMA's business model is non-commercial: it is funded primarily through NZD $77.9 million in Crown appropriation for FY2025/26 supplemented by licensing fees from regulated entities, with no consumer-facing pricing. Recent strategic positioning has emphasized innovation enablement through designations such as the NZDD stablecoin ruling (March 2026), tokenized real estate guidance for Propopoly, and a GSSS bond class exemption (April 2026), alongside international cooperation including a CSRC amended MOU, IOSCO finfluencer enforcement actions, and an EU equivalence decision preserving EUR 50 billion+ in BKBM-referenced instruments. Leadership is in transition, with Chair Craig Stobo having resigned following a neutrality investigation and CEO Samantha Barrass having announced non-renewal of her term; Deputy Chair Steven Bardy is acting as interim chair. The FMA's moat is statutory rather than competitive: as the sole NZ conduct regulator it has exclusive jurisdiction over licensing and enforcement, supported by an institutional enforcement record, a published guidance library, and ecosystem-locking digital infrastructure.

Name

Financial Markets Authority

Legal name

Financial Markets Authority

Website

https://fma.govt.nz

Company type

Public

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Financial Markets Authority is New Zealand's statutory financial markets conduct regulator, licensing and supervising financial advice providers, financial institutions, market operators, crypto asset service providers, and—effective July 2026—consumer credit providers under Crown-funded public-sector mandate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Markets Regulation

NAICS

Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (521)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services Regulators (Banking, Securities, Insurance) (BPAIAOAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory, Reporting & Compliance for BNPL (FSAGAIAM), Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking) (FSAGAHAC), Regulatory Reporting Hubs & Aggregators (Multi-Regime/Multi-Asset) (FSAFAJAF)

Keywords

• Financial markets regulation
• Conduct supervision
• Licensing and enforcement
• Investor protection
• Financial advice oversight

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Financial Markets Authority is New Zealand's principal financial markets conduct regulator, licensing and supervising financial advice providers, financial institutions, crypto asset service providers, market operators (including NZX), and (from 1 July 2026) consumer credit providers. It enforces fair-dealing standards, publishes guidance and warnings, runs a fintech regulatory sandbox, and provides consumer investor education. The organisation is funded via Crown appropriations and licensing fees and operates as an independent Crown entity.

Product overview

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is New Zealand's principal conduct regulator for financial markets. Rather than a unified software product, the FMA provides a portfolio of regulatory services including an AI-powered website search, secure online portal (myFMA) for licence applications and regulatory submissions, consumer investor education resources covering various investment types, scam warnings and alerts, licensing services for financial advice providers, financial institutions, and crypto asset service providers, climate reporting oversight, and a fintech regulatory sandbox programme. The FMA also publishes guidance documents and regulatory reports to help firms comply with financial markets legislation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• myFMA Online Portal Secure online portal for submitting licence applications, regulatory returns, scheme information, and notifications to the FMA; used by financial institutions, FAPs, and other licensed entities for compliance submissions.
• Disclose Register Public register for offers of financial products and managed investment schemes under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, providing transparency for investors.
• Financial Advice Provider Licensing Licensing, compliance oversight, and regulatory guidance services for financial advisers and financial advice providers operating in New Zealand.
• Financial Institution Licensing (CoFI) Licensing services for financial institutions under the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime, including fair conduct programme requirements and regulatory returns.
• Consumer Credit Provider Licensing Licensing services for consumer credit providers under the CCCFA Amendment, with regulatory responsibility transferring from the Commerce Commission to FMA on 1 July 2026.
• Crypto Asset Service Provider Registration Registration and compliance services for crypto asset service providers required to register as financial service providers and comply with AML, CFT, and KYC obligations.
• Climate Reporting Entity Oversight Oversight and guidance for Climate Reporting Entities on mandatory climate-related disclosures under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
• Fintech Regulatory Sandbox Programme Pilot programme allowing innovative fintech firms to test products under regulatory supervision before full commercial launch, with an expanded on-ramp licence pathway planned through 2027.
• Consumer Investor Education Resources Educational resources for retail investors covering investing basics, types of investments (shares, bonds, managed funds, KiwiSaver, ETFs, crowdfunding, derivatives, forex, commodities, property), online investing platforms, and financial advice guidance.
• Scam Warnings and Alerts Public registry providing investor warnings, alerts about fraudulent entities, and safety information about investment scams targeting New Zealanders, including the "Inside a Scam" awareness campaign.
• AI-powered Website Search AI-powered search functionality on the FMA website enabling users to ask natural-language questions or search by keywords for pages, documents, and regulatory information.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)coreOthers · 20 April 2026FMA participates in the IOSCO International Securities & Commodities Alerts Network, sharing warnings about unauthorized firms. The FMA joined the second annual Global Week of Action against unlawful finfluencers alongside 16 other international regulators, spanning 17 regulators across five continents. The 2026 coalition doubled in size from the inaugural nine-regulator operation.
• European Commission (DG FISMA)coreOthers · 7 December 2025The European Commission adopted an equivalence decision recognizing New Zealand's regulatory framework for financial benchmarks, enabling continued use of NZ bank bill rate benchmark (BKBM)-referenced instruments worth over EUR 50 billion beyond January 1, 2026. The decision ensures contracts referencing BKBM remain legally valid in the EU and follows NZFBF's receipt of a benchmark administrator's licence from FMA.
• China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)coreOthers · 25 September 2025The CSRC and FMA signed an amended Memorandum of Understanding regarding securities and futures regulatory cooperation in Auckland. The agreement updates a previous MOU from 2004 to better address current capital market development and cross-border cooperation needs. The CSRC has established bilateral regulatory cooperation MOUs with securities and futures authorities from 67 countries or regions worldwide.
• IOSCO International Securities & Commodities Alerts NetworkminorOthers · 1 August 2025FMA added cryptocurrency trading platform Dobibo to the IOSCO warning list, indicating it is not authorized to offer investment or crypto services to New Zealand residents. Collaboration with international regulators for investor protection and scam prevention.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): Singapore's integrated central bank and financial regulator, well known for its progressive fintech regulatory approach including sandboxes and stablecoin frameworks. Comparable to FMA in fintech engagement posture and cross-border regulatory cooperation.
• European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA): EU's pan-European securities markets regulator responsible for the equivalence assessment framework under which the European Commission recognized NZ's benchmark regime. Peer in cross-border regulatory cooperation and equivalence dialogue.
• BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany): Germany's integrated financial regulator covering banking, securities, insurance, and fintech. Peer in integrated conduct supervision, fintech oversight, and cross-border regulatory cooperation in Europe.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): UK's conduct regulator for financial services firms and markets, with comparable licensing, supervision, and enforcement authority. Shares an outcomes-focused regulatory philosophy and operates a comparable regulatory sandbox model.
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): US federal securities regulator with broad authority over capital markets, disclosure, and conduct. Comparable in licensing, enforcement, and climate-related disclosure oversight functions, though operating at much larger scale.
• Securities and Futures Commission (SFC): Hong Kong's securities and futures markets regulator. Peer in securities market oversight, intermediary licensing, and Asia-Pacific regulatory cooperation, including cross-border enforcement coordination relevant to FMA's CSRC MOU work.

Others

• International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO): Global body of securities regulators that FMA participates in through the International Securities & Commodities Alerts Network and the Global Week of Action against finfluencers. Peer in the international standards-setting and cross-border cooperation network in which FMA operates.

Regional players

• Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ): New Zealand's central bank and prudential regulator for banks and insurers. Complements FMA's conduct role with prudential supervision, and the two coordinate on CoFI licensing and non-bank deposit taker oversight in the NZ regulatory perimeter.

Direct peers

• Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (CIRO): Canada's national self-regulatory organization for investment dealers and trading activity. Peer in market intermediary licensing, conduct supervision, and enforcement functions within a comparable mid-sized capital market jurisdiction.
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC): Australia's integrated corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit regulator. Direct peer in terms of mandate scope, conduct-of-financial-institutions supervision, fintech sandbox programmes, and trans-Tasman regulatory cooperation with FMA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/financial-markets-authority-nz
• Xx.com/FMAmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Financial Markets Authority