Financial Institutions

The CoFI Act creates a new market service of “acting as a financial institution." We refer to this market service as the “financial institution service”. The licence for this new market service is known as a “financial institution licence”.

Topics covered in this section

Financial institution licensing

Any registered bank, licensed insurer, or licensed non-bank deposit taker in the business of providing one or more relevant services will need to hold a financial institution licence to operate, if that service is received by a consumer in New Zealand.

Licensing FAQs

Our team has fielded a number of questions from various financial insititutions about licensing. Please take a moment to read through the licensing FAQs ahead of applying for your licence.

Fair Conduct Programme

A fair conduct programme (FCP) means policies, processes, systems and controls that are designed to ensure the financial institution’s compliance with the fair conduct principle. A financial institution’s FCP must be in writing and must meet the minimum requirements set out in the CoFI Act.

Fair conduct programmes - information for smaller firms

This information sheet provides information and examples to help smaller Financial Institutions (FIs) establish, implement and maintain their fair conduct programme. It complements our other resources relating to FI licensing. It will be useful for smaller firms holding or applying for a licence to act as an FI under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

Financial institution regulatory returns

Regulatory returns are due annually by 30 September for the 12-month period from 1 July to 30 June. The first return period will commence 1 July 2025.

Question or concern about CoFI?

Please get in touch. We're happy to help.

Useful links

Upcoming events and announcements

09 Jul 2025 Wed 12:00pm

CFA Society webinar

The FMA’s inaugural Financial Conduct Report and focus over next 12 months.

22 Jul 2025

New Zealand Risk & Resilience Summit 2025

Tue 9:00am

See details →

28 Jul 2025

Financial Markets Law Conference

Mon 12:00pm

18 Aug 2025

14th Annual Future of Financial Services New Zealand

Mon 3:30pm

Latest

Reports and papers

25 Jun 2025

Financial Conduct Report

The Financial Conduct Report is an annual publication providing key regulatory priorities for the coming year for the financial advice, investment man ...

Media releases

25 Jun 2025

New Financial Conduct Report sets out key areas of FMA focus for the year ahead

The FMA has today released The Financial Conduct Report designed to provide clarity to the financial sector on what to expect from the regulator in th ...

Guidance

30 May 2025

AML/CFT guidance for Financial Institutions on risk ratings for new customers

This guidance is for financial institutions that operate as providers of online marketplaces. It explains how to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering ...

Research

29 Apr 2025

Consumer Confidence Factsheet 2025

A nationwide Consumer Confidence Survey was commissioned by the FMA in 2024, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of New Zealanders’ exper ...

Research

29 Apr 2025

Key takeaways from the CrowdStrike event survey

In October 2024, the FMA conducted a survey to see how well financial service providers were prepared for and responded to the CrowdStrike incident.

Reports and papers

04 Apr 2025

Fair conduct programme insights report

Insights from the FMA’s review of fair conduct programmes received from financial institutions ahead of the commencement of the CoFI regime

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Financial institution licensing guide

This guide explains how to make an application for a licence, and the criteria you will need tomeet to obtain a licence.

Standard conditions for financial institution licences

All financial institutions and their authorised bodies need to comply with standard conditions to obtain and maintain their licence.

Fair Conduct Programme

This document provides useful information to assist financial institutions in the preparation of a Fair Conduct Programme (FCP).