Latest / Best of Business / Jenee Tibshraeny: NZ Herald Wellington business editor on the review taking place into the Financial Markets Authority

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Jenee Tibshraeny: NZ Herald Wellington business editor on the review taking place into the Financial Markets Authority · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: Now and investigations taking place into workplace conduct and culture
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  Speaker 2: at the Financial Markets Authority. It follows multiple concerns raised
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  Speaker 2: by staff with the Government's Chief Victim Advisor, Wellington's Business
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  Speaker 2: Editor The Herald's Wellington Business Editor, Genative Trainey's been looking
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  Speaker 2: into this and is with us O you name Hi Heather,
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  Speaker 2: what's going on here?
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  Speaker 1: Right?
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  Speaker 3: So basically, multiple past and present FMA staff came forward
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  Speaker 3: to the Chief Victim Advisor with complaints about the culture
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  Speaker 3: at the Financial Markets Authority. Ironically, the FMA regulates financial
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  Speaker 3: institutions conduct and culture, and in twenty nineteen it did
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  Speaker 3: a big sort of review of banks and life insurance
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  Speaker 3: conduct and culture and that was a big, big thing.
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  Speaker 3: But now they are under the microscope. So these people
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  Speaker 3: came forward complained that the issue was e escalated and
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  Speaker 3: moved upon swiftly. On Wednesday last week, the Chief Executive,
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  Speaker 3: Samantha Barris went on leave and she was replaced in
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  Speaker 3: the interim by a board member, which is quite unique
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  Speaker 3: to have someone from the board step into the CEO's
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  Speaker 3: shoes while she goes on leave. So that's the situation.
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  Speaker 3: A case is now involved and is going to do
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  Speaker 3: an investigation which will hopefully shed a bit more light
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  Speaker 3: on what's happening here. People I've talked to just off
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  Speaker 3: the records suggest or yes, anonymously without saying who they are,
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  Speaker 3: have suggested that it's sort of a cultural issue across
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  Speaker 3: the upper echelons of the FMA. It isn't just one person,
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  Speaker 3: it's it's sort of a culture wide issue.
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  Speaker 2: And what is going on. What's the allegations of what's
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  Speaker 2: going on within this culture is a bullying.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's bullying. I guess I'm trying to get a
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  Speaker 3: sense of why, and I think it's just people clinging
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  Speaker 3: onto their jobs, trying to make their way up up
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  Speaker 3: the chain. But I think my understanding is when there
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  Speaker 3: is bullying in the workplace, you know it is a
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  Speaker 3: cultural thing. Someone does something to you and then you
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  Speaker 3: have to play nasty to get ahead, and then on
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  Speaker 3: it goes. I think it's going to be a tough
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  Speaker 3: task for the KC to get on top of it.
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  Speaker 3: Something I'm a bit worried about is some of the
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  Speaker 3: people I'm talking to are saying that there's been a
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  Speaker 3: lot of confidentiality agreements entered into so NDAs have been
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  Speaker 3: signed and they're worried that people won't be able to
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  Speaker 3: be as forthcoming with information due to these agreements. So
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  Speaker 3: I asked the FMA, will they, you know, waive these
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  Speaker 3: NDAs so that people can confidently come forward and talk
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  Speaker 3: to the KC. And the FMA has been pretty cagy
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  Speaker 3: in its response that hasn't said yes or no either way.
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  Speaker 3: So I think that's something I'm looking for, you know,
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  Speaker 3: because we, yeah, you really do want people to come
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  Speaker 3: forward comfortably and be honest about what's gone on.
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  Speaker 2: When there are NDAs involved, it's always weird and reason
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  Speaker 2: to be suspicious. A Jenney, thanks very much, appreciate it, mate.
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  Speaker 2: Jane tib Trainey, the Herald's Wellington Business editor.
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