Sarah Vrede joins as director of capital markets and has more than 20 years’ public and private sector experience in financial and capital markets.
Most recently she was the head of the NZ Debt Management Office within Treasury. Vrede was appointed a Fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals (INFINZ) earlier this year in recognition of her significant contribution to New Zealand’s capital markets.
She will join the FMA in early November and be based in Wellington.
Clare Bolingford will join the FMA in a new role of director of banking and insurance.
She leaves a senior role at the UK markets and conduct regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Bolingford has worked for the FCA for almost 20 years, most recently as head of cross-cutting policy and head of supervision for retail banking groups. She also recently spent two years at the UK Treasury, leading capital markets and prudential policy.
Bolingford will relocate to New Zealand to assume her new role in January 2020. She will be based in Auckland.
Chief executive Rob Everett said: “I am excited to be hiring leaders of such calibre into my team. These are important additions into the leadership group as we look towards a greatly expanded regulatory remit. It is great to see such enthusiasm for the work of the FMA as we serve New Zealanders by applying conduct regulation across sectors and markets within financial services."