Alexander Schumacher

Alexander specialises in financial services regulation, insurance and anti-money laundering law.

Before joining Chapman Tripp, Alexander worked as a senior solicitor in the Office of the Chief Tax Counsel at Inland Revenue for over a decade. While at Inland Revenue, he helped prepare the Commissioner of Inland Revenue's binding rulings and statements on complex high-value transactions and interpretative issues. He has also worked as a legal researcher at the New Zealand Law Commission and as a lecturer at Te Piringa – Faculty of Law in the University of Waikato.

Alexander spent 2022 working as a Senior Associate at a law firm in the Bailiwick of Jersey, where he advised Jersey and international financial service providers on Jersey, Guernsey, United Kingdom and European Union law.  In this role, he considered a wide range of issues relating to AML/CFT, financial sanctions, data protection, immigration, business establishment and licensing, risk management, regulator engagement, regulatory breach notifications, and regulatory enforcement and penalties.  His work included drafting comprehensive business policies and procedures, and assisting with a significant sale and acquisition of a trust company group.

Alexander brings a deep understanding of constructively working with regulators, as well as being able to analyse clients’ issues from legal, commercial and policy perspectives.

Recent highlights

• Advised payment processors, money remitters and other domestic and international financial institutions on AML/CFT Act obligations, particularly with respect to international money flows.
• Counselled insurers on the constraints of the Human Rights Act 1993 and terms and conditions of insurance policies.
• Advised New Zealand insurers and banks on the implications of the Hayne Australian Royal Commission and the ongoing Conduct and Culture review by the Financial Markets Authority and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
• Helped credit unions and friendly societies with a wide range of issues relating to their operation, including contents of product disclosure statements, service and agency agreements, website privacy policies, loan agreement terms and conditions, and interpretation of their rules.
• Advised a wide range of financial service providers on their obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, Financial Advisers Act 2008, Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, KiwiSaver Act 2006, and Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019.