Tuesday June 2
Mortgage brokers association pulls pin on NZ arm
The Finance Brokers Association of Australia has shuttered its two-year-old New Zealand offshoot – the Finance and Mortgage Advisers Association (FAMNZ) – citing “unsustainable” membership numbers.
The closure of the mortgage adviser association follows the departure of FAMNZ country manager Leigh Hodgetts and retirement of FAMNZ’s Australian-based MD Peter White. Its membership base wasn’t disclosed but, in a statement, FAMNZ said while it had aimed to help increase market share of mortgage brokers through advocacy and engagement with regulators and lenders, membership numbers hadn’t reached the level required to make it “financially sustainable”. It also cited new licencing and commission structures for lenders that had made the market more difficult for advisers.
About 75% of mortgages in Australia are completed through brokers.
The FBAA said it knew “the market was different” in NZ and, unlike Australia, advisers didn’t have to be a member of a professional organisation.
Beehive staffer received Fonterra document on his personal email
Christopher Luxon.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has revealed the document relating to the Smith v Fonterra case was also sent by a Fonterra staff member to a former Beehive staffer’s private email account. “This does not meet the standards expected of staff in the Beehive and we are treating it with the seriousness it deserves, with a number of reviews under way,” Luxon said. The Prime Minister’s former chief policy adviser Matt Burgess was at the centre of the controversy around briefing notes being sent to the PM’s office by Fonterra and Z Energy that suggested law changes to end the Smith v Fonterra case. The Government subsequently announced it was changing the law. Luxon initially brushed off concerns about the lobbying effort. But today he said Burgess’ IT account was being reviewed to establish whether any other work-related documents were on his private email. “Using private email to share official information undermines transparency and public trust,” Luxon said.
Tegel bought $339m worth of chicken, turkeys and eggs last year
Tegel Group's holding company Bounty Holdings has reported income of $24.6 million for the 12 months to December 2025, slightly down on the comparable period's $25m. Company register filings showed revenue was up 5.2% year-on-year to $896.5m. Tegel has been owned by Philippines-based Bounty Fresh since 2018, after it paid $438 million for the poultry producer, delisting it from the NZX in October of that year. The group listed purchases of "biological assets" – including live broiler chickens and turkeys, breeding stock and hatching eggs – at a value of $339.3m during the year, up $27.6m on the prior year, with higher sales and harvest both up by a commensurate amount. Those live poultry assets were listed as having a carrying value of $39.2m by year-end.
Wednesday June 3
Watercare confirms 20% jump in growth charges, water up 7.2%
Watercare will hike its 'infrastructure growth charges' for developers by a fifth, with a general increase in water and wastewater pricing to Aucklanders of 7.2% from July 1. That will see the price for 1000 litres of water increase to $2.46, while the water utilty would charge $4.28 to contend with the same volume of wastewater. Watercare said the increases were necessary to help fund planned spending of $13.8 billion in the city's water infrastructure. Chief financial officer Angela Neeson said the jump in IGC charges represented the "minimum" required under the company's regulatory settings. IGCs are one-off fees paid by developers to connect their buildings to the water and wastewater network. While the developer charges vary across the region, the price represents an increase of about $4250 per home in metro Auckland - to just under $30,000.
Pacific Edge completes oversubscribed capital raise
Dual-listed cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge has completed a $36.1m capital raise, $12.1m more than it originally sought after accepting oversubscriptions.
While it was in the throes of the capital raise, the company received the news that it had finally achieved a pathway to gaining reimbursement of its Cxbladder test for patients under federal health insurer Medicare through a new Local Coverage Determination.
Pacific Edge raised $25.4m in an oversubscribed placement last month at 17 cents a share and the board on Wednesday confirmed it had accepted $4.7m of oversubscriptions for its $6m retail offer at the same price. Most applicants under the retail offer will get an allocation that allows them to at least maintain their relative pre-capital raising shareholding.
The raise was necessary because the company was running out of money after losing Medicare coverage last year. Chairman Simon Flood said the company is now in a strong strategic position.
KMD director almost doubles shareholding
KMD director Abby Foote has spent close to $50,000 raising her stake in the listed outdoor retailer. In a disclosure to the NZX, Foote said she had acquired 700,000 new shares through two on-market purchases, almost doubling her existing shareholding. Before the purchases, Foote held just over 771,000 shares. In April, she spent close to $28,000 on more than 466,000 shares during KMD's capital raise. Foote, who was elected to KMD's board in late 2021 as a non-executive director, has been gradually increasing her shareholding. KMD's last annual report, published in September, declared that at the end of July 2025, Foote held 230,000 shares, up from 130,000 shares the year prior. Foote is also on the board of Freightways and was previously a director of Sanford and chair of Christchurch City Holdings.
FMA files 61 mortgage fraud charges against six people
The Financial Markets Authority has taken legal action on an alleged mortgage fraud. It has filed 61 charges at the Manukau District Court against six individuals under the Crimes Act 1961, the Secret Commissions Act 1910 and the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011. FMA response and enforcement executive director Louise Unger said the alleged mortgage fraud undermined trust and confidence in New Zealand’s lending system and financial institutions. "Mortgage fraud is one of our key regulatory priorities. The FMA is taking this action to both hold those responsible to account and to deter others from engaging in similar conduct.”
No further details were given on the case or the people involved. The FMA said it could not comment further at this stage as the matter was before the courts and there were suppression orders in place.
Another KPMG Australia executive quits over whistleblower scandal
The whistleblower scandal at KPMG Australia has claimed another senior executive, with chief operating officer Eileen Hoggett announcing her departure today.
Hoggett’s resignation follows those of chief executive Andrew Yates and audit head Julian McPherson, who departed the firm last week.
The executives took responsibility for the KPMG Australia's response to the treatment of allegations from whistleblowers who claimed the firm had misused client data in pitching for audit work.
The firm’s chief financial officer John Sams will take on Hoggett’s chief operating officer role.
Hoggett will return to a full-time audit role while investigations are ongoing and remains the audit signing partner for Dexus – one of the companies whose lucrative audit tender was claimed by whistleblowers to be won on the back of misuse of confidential client data from developer Lendlease.
Thursday June 4
Bank description to be extended under the Deposit Takers Act
Finance companies, credit unions and building societies have welcomed a Reserve Bank decision to allow licensed entities to call themselves banks from 2028 under the Deposit Takers Act regime. Non-Bank Deposit Takers Association spokesperson Daniel McGrath said it marked a significant step forward for competition in New Zealand. “Together with the recent moves to even the playing field in regulatory capital settings, smaller institutions such as NBDTs will be better able to attract capital, provide innovative new products, and ultimately provide more choice for Kiwis. At the moment, the big four Australian banks control well over 90% of customer deposits in New Zealand." RBNZ financial stability acting assistant governor Angus McGregor said the change applied a consistent approach. “The DTA provides for closer regulation of all deposit takers and gives us new powers to make sure entities able to call themselves banks are doing the right things to keep depositors’ money safe.”
Friday June 6
Ngāi Tahu Investments sells Sanford shares for $64.1m
Ngāi Tahu Investments has sold down its stake in Sanford, but remains the NZX-listed fishing company's largest shareholder. Yesterday, the investment arm of the Ngāi Tahu Charitable Trust – which is governed by the council that represents the Ngāi Tahu iwi – put nearly half its stake in the company up for sale. Forsyth Barr was appointed to arrange, manage, and underwrite the sale of 8,969,621 shares through a fully underwritten block trade. Those shares represent a 9.6% stake in Sanford, and were sold at $7.15 a share, which equated to about $64.1 million.
Ngāi Tahu Holdings CEO Todd Moyle said the transaction supported the group's strategy to reshape its portfolio for future growth and enabled investment in new sectors. "We remain committed to Sanford and are supportive of its performance, strategy, and leadership."
Ngāi Tahu Investments remains Sanford's largest shareholder with a 10.3% stake.
The trading halt on the stock lifted on Friday morning.
Air Chathams ditches Kāpiti service
Air Chathams will suspend its Kāpiti service from July 31, due to rising operating costs.
The airline has provided the only direct flight from Kāpiti Coast Airport to Auckland for the past eight years.
Chief executive Duane Emeny said the decision to suspend was tough and a "personal disappointment", but the only responsible option for the family-owned airline to take without affecting the viability of its other routes, including its lifeline service to the Chatham Islands.
“The last five years have seen operating costs in every part of the business rise dramatically,” he said. “These include aircraft maintenance, labour, airport charges, air traffic control fees and compliance. The unprecedented recent rise in fuel costs comes on top of an already challenging situation."
Aircraft serving Kāpiti will be redeployed to Air Chathams' other routes.
Pounamu exporters fined in landmark case
Boyuan Zhang and Xin Li have been fined a combined $5000 after the first successful Customs prosecution over the attempted export of pounamu, following the guilty verdict in April.
Zhang was fined $3000 and Li $2000 in the Manukau District Court after the pair were caught trying to take nearly 18kg of raw pounamu to China in 2024, well over the 5kg limit without consent.
Ngāti Waewae chair Francois Tumahai told NBR he was “over the moon” with the result and the amount fined was not as important as “the fact that they’ve been prosecuted”.
He said the case opened the way for talks with Customs Minister Casey Costello about changing the threshold so “you can’t export any raw pounamu. Full stop.”
Iwi and others have been calling for tighter rules, stronger compliance powers, and better public understanding of how pounamu can be sold, carried and exported.
