Another director has quit the Securities Commission. Elizabeth Hickey has resigned for personal reasons after two years in the job.
Earlier in April, Securities Commission director David Jackson resigned after the securities watchdog filed legal action against the resins maker Nuplex, of which he is a director, for allegedly breaching continuous disclosure obligations.
It is a busy time for the commission. As well as working on a code for financial advisers, it recently began court proceedings against directors of the failed finance companies Lombard Finance & Investments and Capital & Merchant Finance.
A partner at law firm Chapman Tripp, Roger Wallis, says that the resignations should only affect the commission's workload in the short term and that he believes the remaining commissioners should be able to cope with the extra work.
Commerce Minister Simon Power says he has asked for advice from the Ministry of Economic Development about the skills the commission requires and the timing of appointing replacements.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the commission says the remaining commissioners have a wide range of expertise and it's business as usual.
