Financial Services Council welcomes commonsense reforms

The Financial Services Council (FSC) welcomes the Government’s announcement of pragmatic changes to New Zealand’s capital markets and climate reporting regime, aimed at reducing compliance burdens and encouraging business growth. 

“These reforms are a positive step toward ensuring our capital markets remain vibrant, competitive, and accessible,” said FSC Chief Executive Kirk Hope.

“We support the Government’s commitment to listening to industry feedback and making adjustments that strike a better balance between transparency, cost-effectiveness, and market participation.”

The FSC particularly supports the following changes:

• Raising the climate reporting threshold for listed issuers from $60 million to $1 billion in market capitalisation, which will help smaller firms avoid disproportionate compliance costs.
• Adjusting liability settings for directors and companies to reduce unnecessary risk while maintaining robust climate disclosures.
• Removing managed investment schemes from the climate reporting regime, aligning with investor feedback and improving the relevance of disclosures.

“These changes reflect a thoughtful recalibration of the climate reporting framework,” said Mr Hope.

“They will help ensure that climate disclosures remain meaningful without discouraging listings or diverting capital away from productive investments.”

The FSC looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the Government and industry stakeholders to ensure that regulatory settings support innovation, sustainability, and growth in New Zealand’s financial services sector.

ENDS