New Zealand’s financial markets regulator has reached a full and final settlement with Financial Markets Authority and CBL Corporation Limited over civil claims tied to the insurer’s 2015 initial public offering, marking another significant step in the protracted legal fallout from one of the country’s highest-profile insurance collapses.
The settlement resolves the FMA’s claims against CBL in relation to alleged disclosure deficiencies surrounding its 2015 NZX listing. Questions relating to pecuniary penalties will now proceed to the High Court for determination.
The agreement follows the regulator’s earlier settlement this week with former CBL director Peter Harris, who admitted liability for two contraventions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act in relation to IPO disclosure. However, the FMA and Harris remain at odds over the scale of any financial penalty and whether a banning order should be imposed, with those issues also to be determined by the court.
CBL’s collapse in 2018 - less than three years after listing and at a time when it carried an approximate market value of NZ$750 million - remains one of the most consequential failures in New Zealand insurance and capital markets in recent memory. The insurer’s downfall triggered multiple regulatory proceedings and continues to shape governance and disclosure expectations across the sector.
“This marks another key step forward in the long-running proceedings arising from the collapse of CBL,” said Margot Gatland, the FMA’s head of enforcement, reiterating the regulator’s position that misleading or inadequate disclosure to investors is unacceptable.
For insurance professionals, the case continues to carry significance well beyond CBL itself. The FMA’s enforcement programme has tested the liability exposure not only of issuers, but also directors and senior executives - including former CFO Carden Mulholland, whose case established important precedent around executive accountability for disclosure failings.
The litigation has become a reference point for insurers, brokers and listed financial institutions assessing governance controls, board oversight and disclosure frameworks, particularly as regulatory scrutiny of financial resilience and market transparency remains elevated.
The proceedings also underscore the continued importance of robust governance in insurance groups operating across regulated jurisdictions, especially those accessing public capital markets or managing complex international operations.
With penalty hearings still to come and aspects of the IPO proceeding continuing, further court rulings are expected to add to New Zealand’s developing case law on disclosure obligations -outcomes likely to be closely watched by insurance boards, D&O underwriters and governance advisers alike.
