The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand has cancelled the Financial Advice Provider licence of Saanvi 2022 Limited, which traded as Saaga Mortgages, after finding the firm failed to meet its licence obligations. The decision follows an investigation into the Auckland-based mortgage advice provider.
The FMA opened its investigation after concerns were raised by Kiwi Advisor Network (KAN), Saanvi’s aggregator. Saanvi had been providing financial advice on mortgages, with its sole director, Gajay Singh, acting as the only adviser.
According to the FMA, KAN alerted the regulator that altered supporting documents had been submitted by Saanvi to mortgage product providers. The FMA’s investigation found that such alterations occurred in lending applications Saanvi submitted for six clients. When requested, Saanvi was unable to provide originating emails or source records to support the documentation it had supplied.
Helena Lewis, Head of the FMA’s Perimeter and Response team, said the issues uncovered at Saanvi reflected serious failures of trust, governance, and professional standards. She noted that the investigation also identified failures in disclosure to clients regarding a referral arrangement.
The FMA found that Saanvi’s clients were not informed of a referral arrangement that included payments to a third party who was actively involved in Saanvi’s advice process. The regulator expressed concern that this third party appeared to be directly involved in the advice process rather than acting solely as a source of referrals, and that Saanvi had misled KAN about the identity of this individual.
Further concerns were raised over the handling of client information. Saanvi disclosed to the FMA that clients’ personal information may have been accessible to its administrative assistant, an individual who had no formal employment or contractual relationship with the firm.
The combination of altered documents, inadequate record-keeping, undisclosed referral arrangements, and weaknesses in the protection of client information led the FMA to conclude that Saanvi had not met its obligations as a licensed Financial Advice Provider. As a result, the regulator cancelled Saanvi’s licence.
The FMA noted that Saanvi cooperated throughout the investigation, and that Mr. Singh expressed remorse for the conduct identified. Nonetheless, the regulator viewed the issues as sufficiently serious to warrant licence cancellation in order to uphold standards of trust, governance, and professional conduct in New Zealand’s financial advice sector.
