Reporting, Liability and Disclosure Changes for Consumer Credit Providers

On 1 July 2026, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) took over responsibility for regulating the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) from the Commerce Commission. As part of this change, consumer credit providers including banks, credit unions and other lenders are now licensed under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA).

Reporting

Section 412 of the FMCA requires licensees to inform the FMA as soon as they believe they’ve breached, or are likely to breach, a licence obligation or if there has been, or is likely to be, a material change in circumstances, or where certain particulars are false or misleading.

While other types of FMCA licensees have been subject to this for years, this is new for consumer credit providers who have not had to comply with this until now.

The obligation to report arises as soon as the licensee believes a breach may have happened or may be about to happen. Getting this timing wrong, or failing to report at all, can result in a penalty of up to $600,000.

Director and senior manager liability

Directors and senior managers of consumer credit providers no longer have a personal due diligence obligation under the CCCFA. Personal liability arises instead under the existing FMCA regime and requires involvement in a breach.

Disclosure

Under the CCCFA, courts may order a debtor not liable for borrowing costs where appropriate disclosures have not been made by consumer credit providers. This is triggered by way of application from a debtor or the FMA, where courts may consider factors including, without limitation, the provider’s compliance programmes and prejudice caused to the debtor.

DISCLAIMER: All the information published is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this article. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of this firm. Articles appearing in this newsletter may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source. Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2019. Editor: Adrienne Olsen. E-mail: adrienne@adroite.co.nz. Ph: 029 286 3650 or 04 496 5513.