Financial institution licensing FAQs

All entities that are required to obtain a financial institution licence by the FMA under the CoFI Act are also separately prudentially licensed and regulated by the Reserve Bank. 

New Zealand’s financial markets are regulated under a “twin peaks” model. This means that two regulators – the FMA and the Reserve Bank – both have shared responsibility for regulating financial institutions. However, each of these entities are tasked with separate functions. The FMA’s remit is primarily conduct regulation, while the Reserve Bank’s remit is prudential regulation. 

This means that, from 31 March 2025, banks, insurers and non-bank deposit takers providing services to consumers in New Zealand, are required to be licensed by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and to hold a financial institution licence issued by the FMA.

Yes, an application for a financial institution licence can include authorised bodies. An authorised body is a related body corporate named on a licence that can provide the licensed service without needing its own licence. Both the licensee and any authorised bodies must (collectively) meet the eligibility criteria set out in section 400(1) of the FMC Act. For more information refer to the financial institutions licensing guide. 

 

A financial institution licence will have no expiry date unless the FMA specifies one, or you give notice to cancel your licence, or the FMA withdraws it.

After receiving your application, we will send an email notification acknowledging receipt. Then, as we assess your application, we may contact you to clarify your application or to request further information.  

After processing your application, we will email you to confirm whether your licence has been approved or declined, or if it requires specific conditions.  

If your licence is approved, we will update the Financial Service Provider Register to show that you hold a financial institution licence. 

Conditions are necessary to ensure licence holders continue to meet licensing requirements, and to help us effectively monitor the licensed population. 

In 2022, we consulted publicly on our proposal to impose six standard conditions on financial institution licences. We received written submissions from a range of stakeholders and, after carefully considering the submissions, decided to impose six standard conditions on each financial institution licence issued. For more information, see our response to the feedback we received and the Regulatory Impact Statement, which assesses the impacts of the standard conditions.

• View the consultation response feedback
• View the financial institutions standard conditions document
• View the financial institutions Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS)