Financial Markets Authority chairperson Craig Stobo has resigned after an independent investigation found his praise of the coalition Government actions and other political commentary breached neutrality rules.
Commerce Minister Cameron Brewer confirmed he had accepted Stobo's resignation earlier today, following the completion of a review by Wendy Aldred KC into several conduct concerns raised by FMA board members.
The investigation, dated March 23, concluded there was "just cause" for the minister to recommend Stobo's removal from the FMA board under the Crown Entities Act.
Stobo resigned before that step could be taken.
Brewer said the former chairperson agreed, "it is important the FMA remains fully focused on its core regulatory role and continues to command the confidence of ministers, regulated entities and stakeholders".
The FMA is the country's main financial markets regulator, overseeing the conduct of participants in the market and enforcing securities, financial reporting, and company law.
Aldred's most damaging findings centred on Stobo's media commentary.
"When read individually and together, his comments... read as an endorsement of the current National-led government and particular named ministers, and are critical of the former Labour-led government," she wrote.
Stobo had previously praised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's coalition management and ministers including National's Simeon Brown, Erica Stanford and NZ First leader Winston Peters.
“The coalition continues to deliver ‘the great unwind’ of atrocious policy settings of the last government," he said in one published instance.
The comments were made under other titles Stobo held, including as an economist and as chairperson of NZ Windfarms and the Local Government Funding Agency.
However, Aldred found that distinction made no practical difference, given the prominence of his role as the chairperson of the FMA.
"It is not realistic to think that this will avoid the risks identified," the report stated, noting that those in the financial sector "will not cease to identify Mr Stobo with the FMA simply because comments may be attributed to him in another capacity".
The probe also found Stobo's January 2025 submission to Parliament supporting the Government's Treaty Principles Bill contradicted the FMA's own board-approved Māori strategy, and that he had acted "at the expense of the FMA's interests".
Aldred separately found Stobo had been too slow to resign from the board of digital mortgage company Indi after a conflict of interest was raised in mid-2025, calling the nearly three-month delay between agreeing to resign and doing so "unacceptably long".
The report noted he had properly disclosed the directorship when he took it on in August 2024 and had acted reasonably in doing so, but should have moved faster once the conflict was accepted.
The review also examined Stobo's trip to Estonia in July 2025 with a former junior FMA staff member, who had left the organisation weeks earlier, but found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship between the pair.
The report said rumours about the pair had spread within the organisation in late 2025, leading to a dispute between the former staff member and a current employee that escalated to accusations of harassment and a police complaint.
But the KC did note shortcomings in Stobo's failure to tell the FMA he would be visiting the Estonian financial markets regulator or that the former staffer would accompany him.
Stobo's travel expense applications, which had sought to combine personal travel with FMA-funded trips, were also found not to be inappropriate. The report noted he had made the applications as required and accepted the decisions when they were declined.
While the report found the staff engagement and Indi matters reflected shortcomings in Stobo's judgment, it said neither would have amounted to just cause for removal on its own. The public commentary findings alone were sufficient to reach that conclusion.
Brewer thanked Stobo for his service.
Board member Steven Bardy will act as chairperson while a replacement is appointed.
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