Professional director Craig Stobo has been named new Chairman of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
Stobo, the former Chief Executive of BT Funds Management who did a report on the taxation of investment income for the then-Finance Minister Michael Cullen in 2004, currently chairs the Local Government Funding Agency and NZ Windfarms Ltd. Announcing his appointment to the FMA, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says Stobo also has experience as a diplomat, economist, chief investment officer, and chief executive.
Stobo succeeds Mark Todd at the FMA for a five-year term. Todd's term expired at the end of April.
"The FMA plays a crucial role ensuring the financial market is fair and transparent. Their work gives people the confidence to invest and helps New Zealand realise its economic potential. To do this, and to achieve the Government’s commitment to rebuilding the economy, we need strong leadership," Bayly says.
"Mr Stobo brings a significant depth of experience to the role, having worked as a director, diplomat, economist, and chief executive. The FMA will benefit from Mr Stobo’s understanding of market issues and regulation, as well as the importance of informed participation from businesses and investors."
The FMA was launched in 2011, under the oversight of the then-Commerce Minister Simon Power, to regulate New Zealand's financial markets. It succeeded the Securities Commission following the wholesale meltdown of the finance company sector, with the Government tasking the FMA with restoring retail investors' confidence in the capital markets after hundreds of thousands of investors lost billions of dollars in finance company collapses.
Todd’s FMA stint lasted almost nine years, Bayly says, including five as Chairman.
Meanwhile, Mark Weenink has resigned from the FMA’s board, effective from May 1, having joined it in 2022.
1 Comments
And what benefit after 13 years has the FMA brought to society? If people want to invest their funds without doing any due diligence that’s their risk, it’s not up to the taxpayer to protect them
Each Govt is missing the point, the dire, serious problem NZ Aotearoa has is woeful lack of competition in banking
USA has some 4000 banks
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