Loan-to-value restrictions may be eased as interest rates move back to more normal levels, Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer says.

New Professional Advisers Association chief executive Rod Severn says advisers in regional New Zealand can expect to see more of the organisation under his watch.

[UPDATED] New data from the Reserve Bank shows that the percentage of lending being done to low-deposit borrowers is still less than half what banks are allowed.

Industry participants were scathing in their response to the first draft of the new information return advisers will now have to complete annually. But the changes the FMA has made in its second attempt have been cautiously welcomed.

Apartment prices haven’t kept pace with those of standalone houses over the past decade, data from QV shows.

There are fears few individual advisers will be able to keep up with the compliance requirements for Discretionary Investment Management Services (DIMS) once the Financial Markets Conduct Act comes into force.

Investors may find it harder to get loans – or have to pay higher interest rates for them – after a Reserve Bank decision that requires banks to class those with five or more properties as “commercial” clients.

In a new consultation paper the FMA has changed the proposed requirement for AFA annual reports after criticism from the industry.

Reserve Bank staff had to use their new legal powers to request information from insurers during the insurance licensing process, it has been revealed.

KiwiSaver funds’ fees stand in the way of them being given a gold rating in Morningstar’s research, its Australasia co-head of fund research says.

Most discretionary investment management services (DIMS) will be class advice and require a licence under the Financial Markets Conduct Act, the FMA says.

Problems remain relating to AFAs' disclosure, record-keeping and the suitability of personalised services, the Financial Markets Authority says.

A three-year commission clawback period would be a welcome move in New Zealand, the head of one insurer says.

It has been a struggle at times for the Financial Markets Authority to reach a quorum of non-conflicted board members to make decisions, a new report from the Productivity Commission reveals.

New Zealanders are becoming much more engaged with KiwiSaver as their balances creep up, says ANZ’s head of wealth, John Body.

Kiwibank is hoping to send out details of the merger of its two KiwiSaver schemes by the middle of this year.