Governance news bites

Governance is often in the headlines, and the last few weeks have been no exception. Recent news related to governance includes: 

No room for complacency in financial services governance

A major financial services reform package is set to change the risk landscape for directors. The repeal of the due diligence duty and removal of personal liability under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) may feel like a win – but don’t relax just yet.

The shift to licensing under the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMCA) brings a new set of director-level duties, including fair dealing and disclosure obligations, with the potential for both civil and criminal penalties. Directors now need to think beyond compliance as a checkbox exercise and embed FMCA risk management into their governance oversight.

Alongside this, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is gaining greater powers under the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill, including the ability to conduct no-notice inspections. Boards will be directly accountable for ensuring complaints are handled “in a timely and effective manner”, as this becomes a statutory obligation. Meanwhile, the Financial Service Providers Amendment Bill introduces regulated minimum standards for dispute resolution scheme board appointments. Now is the time for directors to review board appointment processes, refresh compliance frameworks and double down on conduct obligations.

From Wall Street to Queen Street: Is capital getting cold feet?

Amid rising rhetoric from prominent CEOs and deepening macroeconomic uncertainty, signals are flashing red for the US economy. Billionaire hedge fund executives, such as Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman, have warned of a United States recession as early as this year, citing record-high deficits, political dysfunction and ballooning debt servicing costs. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Larry Fink struck a cautious tone in a recent CNBC interview, noting that “clients are hoarding cash” and that investor caution is outweighing traditional market optimism.

While capital flows have always responded to political and economic signals, the current scale and pace of market unease is significant. Economist Noah Smith points to declining trust in US institutions and rising political instability as key reasons investors are moving money elsewhere. For New Zealand directors, the implications are real: reduced global appetite for risk can affect capital availability, investment decisions and investor sentiment here, too. This is a moment to recheck assumptions and ensure your board is scenario planning for a more volatile global environment.

Three executive orders in eight days: Tracking the volatility in US tariff policy

If you thought keeping up with the tariff policy developments in the United States was difficult from our distance, spare a thought for those having to implement the changing tariff policy in the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.

The most recent notice from CBP to importers was “UPDATED GUIDANCE – Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion for Specified Products”.

This update clearly illustrates the extent of and rapidity of changes in US tariff policy: “The purpose of this message is to provide further guidance on the additional duties due on imported merchandise which were imposed by Executive Order 14257, issued April 2, 2025, and published in the Federal Register Notice, “Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits,” 90 FR 15041 (Apr. 7, 2025), as amended by Executive Order 14259, issued on April 8, 2025, “Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports from the People’s Republic of China,” and as further amended by the Executive Order dated April 9, 2025, “Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment.” [emphasis added]

Despite the tariff changes announced on 2 April 2025, up until recently the new tariffs weren’t actually being collected. And there is no rest for officials, some media is reporting eight “flip-flops” on tariffs since the original announcement 2 April 2025, one of which suggests that the CBP update was incorrect!

Quantum leaps get tactile – are you ready?

Touchable 3D holograms — long a feature of science fiction — are now a working reality. Engineers in Hong Kong have created the world’s first unaided, touchable hologram, using a photophoretic-trap display system and ultrasonic force fields to let users physically feel and interact with virtual objects suspended in mid-air. The innovation, which requires no headsets or gloves, brings immersive experiences directly into the physical world and signals a profound shift in how we may engage with digital content.

This development lands squarely with quantum leaps ahead — one of the IoD’s top five issues for directors in 2025. Boards must be prepared for a wave of technologies that blur the line between the virtual and physical, with implications across governance, strategy and risk oversight. Directors might ask: how might touchable holograms transform customer experiences, redefine virtual collaboration, or disrupt our sector’s business model?

These leaps are no longer hypothetical. Directors who stay curious and engage early with emerging tech are more likely to seize opportunity — not just manage risk.