Financial adviser act tweaks favour Heartland
Heartland big winner in last-minute tweaks to Financial Adviser Act.
Heartland Bank, if it can secure a banking licence, could be the big winner in last-minute changes to the financial adviser regime announced today by Commerce Minister Simon Power.
The financial adviser regime comes fully into force on July 1, with the addition of changes to the Financial Advisers Act approved by the cabinet this week.
The changes reclassify a number of products considered less complex and risky from category 1 to category 2.
The products being shifted into a less onerous regulatory regime include: public term deposits; bank notice products, and building society fixed-term redeemable shares, where the building society is also a bank.
The latter category appears to capture some equity products of the newly-formed Heartland Bank.
“Potential risk faced by investors should be matched by the scale of regulation, so the regulatory costs for affected businesses should be lower for less risky products,” Mr Power said.
By next week all financial advisers seeking authorisation must have completed training and have had their authorisation confirmed by the Financial Markets Authority.
The Government has granted an extension to advisers in Canterbury, who have until 1 October to be compliant.
"The financial adviser regime holds our financial advisers accountable for their advice and imposes a high standard of competency and professionalism," Mr Power said.
NBR Staff
Thu, 23 Jun 2011
Thu, 23 Jun 2011
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Financial adviser act tweaks favour Heartland
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