New Zealand is introducing tougher regulations for non-bank financial institutions after a string of failures of finance companies, the government said Wednesday. Finance Minister Michael Cullen warned the new laws would not be a quick-fix for the finance industry, which has been hit by a run on funds mirroring credit fears in the US and elsewhere.
"This is not intended to be a quick-fix solution and it will not solve all the problems that some finance companies are currently facing," Cullen said. Nine companies have collapsed in the last 16 months - including five in the last three weeks - with total debts of 1.1 billion dollars (777 million US).