The committee will look at ensuring investors are well-informed about investment proposals and that they understand the implications of proposed moratoria.

It will also investigate as to what actions can be taken to reduce the chance of a failure, and what redress exists when failures occur. “The committee takes the view that it is not necessary to duplicate the work that is underway” by the government, said chairman Lianne Dalziel in a statement.

“It wishes to focus on issues that do not appear to have been identified within current work programmes.”

The committee already convinced Commerce Minister Simon Power to ask the Ministry of Economic Development to prepare a report into the moratoria of finance companies in May, and while there’s no definite timeframe on when the report will be complete, a spokesman for the minister expects a draft “soon”.

ACT MP and committee member John Boscowen has been lobbying for an inquiry the reasons behind finance company collapses since February.

“The Committee will look at what changes need to be made to the law – if any – to prevent such losses happening in the future,” he said.

“I am strongly urging investors to have their say so that this situation can be resolved and future investors are protected.” In March, Registrar of Companies Neville Harris issued a damning assessment of New Zealand’s failed finance companies, likening their practices to “Ponzi schemes.”

A major factor in the collapse of the industry was governance which lacked the experience and skills required to oversee complex operations, and the rolling up of non-performing loans into new debt to mask the true performance of a portfolio, Harris said in his report.

Submissions close on October 15.

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