New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority said that as part of its thematic review on financial institutions' product and services reviews, all 20 participating institutions confirmed they conduct reviews, with varied approaches reflecting their size and complexity, according to a Tuesday statement.

"Companies should ensure consumer requirements and objectives are central when they design and carry out reviews, and should adopt a risk-based and flexible review schedule that can respond to internal and external factors," the regulator's executive director of licensing and conduct supervision, Clare Bolingford, said.

The firms are also expected to incorporate consumer vulnerability considerations, as well as ensure that their products and services remain accessible and fair.

Financial institutions can also expect proactive reviews of existing products and services to be a continued area of interest for the regulator, Bolingford added.

Off-sale and legacy products and services were often reviewed less frequently by the financial institutions than on-sale products and services. Conduct risks in the banking and insurance sectors were high due to reliance on legacy technology, systems, and manual controls and processes, as well as inadequate staff training. Dispute resolution services were overlooked as a source of insights by the majority of participants, Bolingford noted.