The Financial Markets Authority has announced two senior appointments to its executive team, reporting directly to Chief Executive, Rob Everett.
Clare Bolingford will join the regulator in a newly created role of Director of Banking and Insurance, relocating to New Zealand from the UK to assume the Auckland-based role in January 2020.
Bolingford will leave a senior role at the UK markets and conduct regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where she has worked for almost 20 years, most recently as Head of Cross-Cutting Policy and Head of Supervision for Retail Banking Groups.
She also recently spent two years at the UK Treasury, leading capital markets and prudential policy.
Sarah Vrede will join the FMA as Director of Capital Markets, effective early Novemeber and Wellington-based.
Vrede brings more than 20 years’ public and private sector experience in financial and capital markets to the role.
Previously, she was head of the NZ Debt Management Office within Treasury and was appointed a Fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals (INFINZ) earlier this year in recognition of her significant contribution to New Zealand’s capital markets.
Commenting on the appointments, Everett said: “I am excited to be hiring leaders of such calibre into my team.
He added: “These are important additions to the leadership group as we look towards a greatly expanded regulatory remit. It is great to see such enthusiasm for the work of the FMA as we serve New Zealanders by applying conduct regulation across sectors and markets within financial services.”