Adviser regulation years away now

The report from the Task Force on Financial Intermediaries is now with Commerce Minister Pete Hodgson – but any changes are three years away.

Thursday, July 28th 2005, 2:57AM

by Rob Hosking

The report from the Task Force on Financial Intermediaries is now with Commerce Minister Pete Hodgson – but any changes are three years away.

Without any fanfare the Ministry of Economic Development quietly put out a press release which says the Task Force’s findings will now be “fed into the wider review of non-bank financial products and providers.”

The release also states that “policy proposals from the wider review are expected to be submitted to Cabinet in late 2006 – it is expected that legislation will be passed in 2008.”

That is quite a bit longer than what most had envisaged. Hodgson is likely to release the Taskforce’s report by the middle of August, his office told Good Returns, although with the topsy turvey nature of the election campaign means this can by no means be considered a hard and fast deadline.

The report looks set to emphasis the importance of consumer education, the need for enhanced disclosure and standards, and effective remedies for breaches.

Some sort of co-regulatory model for the industry appears most likely, with industry bodies acting as gatekeepers and backed up by either the Securities Commission or – less likely -some other body.

Hodgson himself is unlikely to implement any changes, regardless of the election result on September 17. At the time he was given the Commerce job late last year Prime Minister Helen Clark also handed him the Associate Health portfolio, and specifically stated he would take over health after the election.

Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.

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