The FMA has published its final guidance for financial institutions that distribute products and services through intermediaries as part of the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime.
CoFI will be introduced on 31 March 2025 to help ensure financial institutions such as banks, insurers, and non-bank deposit takers comply with a fair conduct principle to treat consumers fairly, and establish, implement and maintain a fair conduct programme.
These programmes must account for intermediated distribution arrangements where an intermediary or agent is involved in the distribution of a financial institution’s products or services, such as insurance or mortgages, or car dealers selling vehicle finance or insurance. The FMA will begin accepting CoFI licence applications from 25 July 2023.
The guidance document outlines the FMA’s expectations for intermediated distribution under CoFI at a high level, so it can be applied across different sectors and distribution models.
Clare Bolingford, FMA Executive Director for Regulatory Delivery, said: “We expect the guidance to be well-received because it is principles-based, at a high-level and provides practical examples of how to maintain a fair conduct programme when managing customer relationships through an intermediary.”
Read the FMA’s full press release and download PDFs here.