Other lawyers note uptick in FMA information orders

However, they also note that the FMA's responsibilities, as well as its funding, have increased markedly, as has the complexity of laws governing the financial sector.

And it may be that recipients of FMA orders are seeking legal advice more now than they used to.

Section 25 of the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011 gives the FMA the power to require a person to supply it with specific information or documents, while under section 44 of the Act, the FMA can also make confidentiality orders preventing that person from disclosing the information, or even the fact of the confidentiality order itself, to anyone other than their own lawyer or the FMA.