The new head of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Samantha Barrass - finally has her feet under the desk, and plans to use empathy, education, and enforcement to deliver good results for consumers and investors.
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A New Zealander, who has spent a long time working overseas, Barrass has replaced Rob Everett and comes most recently from financial sector roles in Gibraltar and Britain.
She said her overseas experience would stand her in good stead to head the FMA, which she regarded as a natural progression in her career.
"I bring experience in leading regulators through change through remit expansion and landing that well."
She said the FMA was at an inflection point as it moved to becoming a full service conduct regulator, and she wanted it to deliver "good outcomes" for consumers and investors in a "New Zealand way".
"That presents an opportunity for me to lead regulation that isn't all tied up in all the detail, that isn't tied up in a heavy amount of prescription, where the focus of the companies and the regulator is on detailed box ticking compliance," Barrass said.
"That approach takes attention away from the focus on whether we're making a difference for consumers... do consumers have the products that they need, when they need them? And do they deliver what they understand they're going to? And if something goes wrong, does the bank or insurer have a good complaints management process?"
She said she wanted to work with and through firms in an educative way to get "an empathetic focus" on consumers and investors, but she accepted that firms that could not or would not deliver good results would face enforcement of rules, to underpin investor confidence.
Work on increased regulation of the insurance sector would be a leading priority this year, but she also expected increased attention of fringe financial market operators and cryptocurrency-related businesses.
However, Barrass said she also needed to get up to speed with New Zealand's wholesale and retail financial markets and what consumers were experiencing in areas such as insurance.
Barrass said questions about her previous employment in Gibraltar, where her tenure at the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) was cut short by a year, leading to an employment claim, and her acceptance of a non-executive role on the board of advisory firm PWC's UK Public Interest Body were all dealt with in the appointment process.
"If the question is does New Zealand have 150 percent of my time and attention, the answer's yes."