FSCs across the seas: industry bodies float trans-Tasman co-operation

The NZ Financial Services Council (FSC) has scheduled a joint summit with its Australian counterpart next March in the first formal shared event for the two industry organisations.

Richard Klipin, FSC NZ chief, said the inaugural trans-Tasman symposium would target “business leaders and teams” from the membership of both organisations to discuss common issues.

“Financial services businesses on both sides of the Tasman are tackling many of the same problems including aging populations, retirement income, access to financial advice and new regulatory regimes,” Klipin said. “The summit will enable business leaders in both Australia and NZ to engage on regulatory, policy and other issues from local, regional and global perspectives.”

He said the FSCs also share some common membership with multiple financial institutions operating in both Australia and NZ.

An FSC Australia delegation including chief, Blake Briggs, attended the NZ group’s annual conference in Auckland last week, highlighting the growing co-operation between the two bodies that have no official governance connections despite sharing the same name.

NZ would host the first of what might be ongoing combined FSC meetings, Klipin said.

The news comes, too, as the FSC in NZ set the stage for heightened political engagement under a ‘Blueprint for growth’ agenda unveiled at the Auckland conference.

In a release, Klipin said the policy platform – which targets measures to improve financial literacy, risk management, retirement planning and affordable healthcare in NZ – addresses the “lack of a coherent vision for the sector”.

“Today’s announcement is just the beginning, as we know that good, evidence-based, bipartisan policy leads to better outcomes for all New Zealanders,” he said in the statement.

“We look forward to engaging with all political parties in the leadup to the Election and with the incoming Government after 14 October.”

And the FSC conference itself sparked a new engagement issue following the release of the National Party policy at the event that would allow KiwiSaver members to belong to multiple schemes.

Klipin said the “devil is in the detail” for the National KiwiSaver plan.

“Freedom to choose where your KiwiSaver goes will empower consumers and give them choice,” he said.

“However, it may add some complexity to what is a beautifully simple system.”

The National proposal has been largely condemned as unwieldy, costly and unnecessary by a wide range of industry participants. National also announced plans to scrap the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) regime, which is in the licensing phase ahead of full implementation in 2025, in a move that also implies massive disruption for the industry and regulators alike.

Unsurprisingly for an election year, politics featured heavily at the FSC NZ 2023 conference, which wrapped up last week after attracting almost 500 delegates at peak to the Cordis Auckland.

As usual, the event included a gala awards night with the 2023 winners as below:

Contribution to Community Award

• YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau (Winner)
• Crayon (Highly Commended)
• Mangere Budgeting Services (Highly Commended)

Emerging Trailblazer Award

• Angela Meyer, Mercer NZ (Winner)

Excellence in Governance Award

• Compliance Refinery (Winner)

Workplace Savings Award

• Mike Woodbury, Chapman Tripp (Winner)

Excellence in Sustainability Practices Award

• AIA New Zealand – ESG Strategy (Winner)

Excellence in Wellbeing & Inclusion Award

• AIA New Zealand – Whai Ora (Winner)

Team of the Year Award

• Whai Rawa – Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (Winner)
• Claims Team – Asteron Life (Highly Commended)
• The Table – Mercer New Zealand (Highly Commended)

Chairman’s Award for Service to the Industry

• Naomi Ballantyne, Partners Life (Winner)