Fraud complaints climb from one a year to 21
The Financial Markets Authority has flagged a marked rise in mortgage fraud, with chief executive Samantha Barrass (pictured) telling the inaugural Financial Advice New Zealand Policy Summit that the regulator has seen a "significant lift there, including active cases before the courts," RNZ reported.
The scale of the increase is stark. The FMA dealt with about one mortgage fraud complaint a year prior to 2023, rising to seven in 2024 and 21 in 2025.
Barrass said the trend, alongside the fraudulent withdrawal of KiwiSaver funds to buy a first home, would remain a priority area for the regulator.
"It's an area where we will continue to focus, not least because of the impact on both lenders but also the borrowers, who are often the victims at the heart of these cases," she said.
That focus has already translated into enforcement action — the FMA filed 61 charges against six individuals over an alleged mortgage fraud scheme in June, with suppression orders currently limiting further public detail on the case.
FMA has written to lenders on red flags
Even before that case, Barrass said the FMA had written to major lenders in July 2025 to outline its concerns and highlight the red flags identified in mortgage fraud cases.
On the broader issue of fraudulent KiwiSaver withdrawals, she said the regulator's approach combined support and enforcement.
"We will continue to support licensed financial advice providers to uplift their controls to detect and respond to fraud, along with sharing our own insights to help them identify potential fraud earlier," Barrass said.
She added that the FMA would keep pursuing offenders directly.
"Along with providing support to the sector, we will continue to hold those engaging in fraudulent behaviour to account by using our full suite of regulatory tools," Barrass said.
Advice gap for retirees also flagged as a priority
Barrass used the speech to set out other priorities beyond fraud, including support for older New Zealanders managing retirement savings, an issue highlighted in the FMA's recent Access to Advice report. She said many advisers currently don't offer decumulation advice, despite growing demand.
"With KiwiSaver close to completing two decades of growth, demand for this is only going to rise for the foreseeable future," Barrass said.
She noted advisers would need to think beyond KiwiSaver alone.
"Advisers also need to think about the bigger picture, which includes other investments people have, proceeds from house sales and other forms of income," Barrass said.
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