New Enforcement Framework Completed

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua has published its Enforcement Guidelines and Investigation Guidelines, completing its enhanced Enforcement Framework.

Deputy Governor and General Manager of Financial Stability Christian Hawkesby says our Enforcement Framework has been reviewed and developed to contribute to financial stability by modernising and strengthening our enforcement function.

“The enhanced framework supports our goals of encouraging and enforcing compliance among our regulated entities to maintain public confidence in them.

“The framework consists of 3 public documents which set out our policy for how we select matters for investigation, conduct investigations, and ultimately take decisions relating to enforcement matters,” Mr Hawkesby says.

The foundation document, the Enforcement Principles and Criteria, was published in May 2022 after public consultation. These principles and criteria identify and describe the fundamental considerations that we will work through and weigh when deciding on the appropriate response to serious non-compliance.

The Enforcement Guidelines set out our regulatory response model with a focus on the enforcement-led elements of our regulatory response toolkit (for example, court responses and statutory warnings). They also provide additional examples on how we may apply the Principles and Criteria when considering the appropriate response to a matter of serious non-compliance.

The Investigation Guidelines set out our approach to investigations and describe how we will apply the Principles and Criteria throughout the lifecycle of an investigation. The Investigation Guidelines provide an overview of how matters are referred to enforcement, the investigation process, and the information gathering methods available to the enforcement function.

More information

• Reserve Bank Enforcement Framework
• RBNZ strengthening enforcement framework, May 2022

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