Financial Markets Authority chief executive Sean Hughes is to step down from the role.
Mr Hughes will not seek re-appointment for a second term at the helm of the authority which was established three years ago.
He will step down at the end of the year.
Under his leadership, the FMA has aggressively pursued failed finance companies, with 30 directors successfully convicted.
Mr Hughes says he's sad to leave, but he does so in the knowledge that investors now have more confidence in the country's capital markets.
