Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 15 May 2023
13/05/2023
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This week’s post covers more UCT action, ASIC’s focus on credit / debt providers and a great essay on AI regulation by Lord Sales.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 20 March 2023
19/03/2023
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This week’s blog covers ASIC’s evolving approach to DDO, AUSTRAC’s newest enforceable undertaking and developments in the banking sector abroad.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 20 February 2023
18/02/2023
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This week’s blog covers massive privacy reforms, ASIC’s cool new regulatory timetable, and more uses of the DDO power.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 13 February 2023
11/02/2023
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A super interesting week covering: future of financial advice reforms; SEC’s action against Kraken regarding ‘staking’; the Government’s vision for crypto protection in Australian moving forward and more!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 23 January 2023
21/01/2023
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This update covers: FAR, Crypto risks, deposit rate investigation, cancellations of AFSLs and Sean Hughes’ departure from ASIC.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 16 January 2023
14/01/2023
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Covering Banking Code, IR Derivatives, FIRB Penalties, Greenwashing and the Financial advisers register.
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 19 December 2022
19/12/2022
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Finder (ASIC): ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Finder Wallet Pty Ltd, for allegedly providing unlicensed financial services, breaching product disclosure
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 21 November 2022
19/11/2022
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Crypto custody (Treasury):Treasury has announced that there will be custody rules introduced for digital assets in 2023. The exclusive in this AFR article (linkhere), provides that Treasury will open consultations to safeguard crypto custody arrangements and regulate…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 10 October 2022
09/10/2022
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Crypto Report (Parliament): I have now spent a bit of time on the new crypto bill. By way of reminder, on 19 September 2022, Senator Andrew Bragg released a draft private members bill, entitled the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022 (the Bill). Under the Bill, a licence is required to carry out the following activities in Australia…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 3 October 2022
02/10/2022
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Remediation Plan (ASIC): ASIC has released its new remediation guidance, RG 277. Mandatory reading for anyone who deals with breach reporting, and fixing the problems that arise up, RG 277: clarifies nine principles for conducting a remediation, which will help licensees comply with their obligations and conduct…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 8 August 2022
06/08/2022
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CSLR (ASIC): Such an interesting time for updates from the corporate regulator, who has advised that “Former clients of Dixon Advisory and Superannuation Services Pty Limited (in administration, Dixon Advisory) may be eligible for compensation under a potential future Compensation Scheme of Last Resort but they…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 1 August 2022
30/07/2022
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DDO (ASIC): MASSIVE news this week on the AISC enforcement front. It has placed interim stop orders on three financial firms in response to deficiencies in the target market determination for their products. These actions are ASIC’s first use of the stop order powers under the design and distribution obligations,…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 25 July 2022
24/07/2022
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FATCA/CRS (ATO): The ATO has issued a self-review guide and toolkit on the internal processes and systems that reporting financial institutions should maintain to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Common Reporting Standard, which has been something of a focus for it in preceding years…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 18 July 2022
17/07/2022
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Conflicted Remuneration (ASIC): In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Select AFSL Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] FCA 786, the Federal Court of Australia held that conflicted remunerations contraventions took place for the Respondent, Select AFSL. Select AFSL was part of a corporate group structure which retailed…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 11 July 2022
10/07/2022
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Lanterne (ASIC): ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings against Lanterne Fund Services, alleging multiple failures to meet the obligations of its AFSL, including a failure to meet organisational competence requirements. It alleges Lanterne, under a licensee for hire business model e.g. under Corporate Authorised Representative…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 27 June 2022
25/06/2022
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Litigation Funders (Treasury): Well, that did not take long! Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has put himself on record, stating that the process of funder backed class action will be removed from ASIC and remitted to the Federal Court and state supreme courts. It follows Attorney-General Mark…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 20 June 2022
18/06/2022
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Cyber Safety (ASIC): ASIC has urged listed firms to pay attention to cyber risks, noting World Economic Forum released its annual Global Risks Report 2022 and failure of cyber security measures was the number one risk for Australian executives. ASIC’s December 2021 resilience…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 23 May 2022
21/05/2022
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Prudential Perspectives (APRA): Chair Wayne Byres has identified digital disruption, and the emergence of higher inflation and rising interest rates as key impacts affecting the banking industry in a speech to FINSIA. He also identified that common theme that increasingly pervades all three sectors of the industry…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 25 April 2022
24/04/2022
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Litigation Funding Schemes (ASIC): ASIC has extended the relief from certain dollar disclosures in PDS’s for litigation funding schemes in ASIC Corporations (Disclosure in Dollars) Instrument 2016/767 until 1 October 2026. Relief has been extended by ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2022/264…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 18 April 2022
16/04/2022
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Margin Requirements (APRA): The prudential regulator has made amendments to Prudential Standard CPS 226 Margining and risk mitigation for non-centrally cleared derivatives, by adding the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to the list of foreign regulators in Attachment D…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 11 April 2022
10/04/2022
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Capital Adequacy (APRA): The prudential regulator has released for consultation the interim reporting standards that will accompany the updated capital adequacy and credit risk capital requirements for authorised deposit-taking institutions. It follows the release in November 2021…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 24 January 2022
22/01/2022
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Exchange Traded Products (ASIC): ASIC has released Consultation Paper 356 ETP naming conventions: Updates to INFO 230 (CP 356), seeking feedback on proposals to update the guidance in Information Sheet 230 Exchange-traded products: Admission guidelines (INFO 230), on naming conventions for licensed…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 17 January 2022
16/01/2022
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Liquidity Facility (APRA): APRA has issued a letter to banks announcing the aggregate Committed Liquidity Facility has reduced to $102 billion on 1 January 2022 from $140 billion on 10 September 2021.Since January 2015, those ADIs to which APRA applies the Basel III liquidity standards have…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 25 October 2021
24/10/2021
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Blockchain (Senate):the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre hasreleased its final report. There are some exciting recommendations read themhere(my top read for the week) including: 1) establishing a market licensing regime for Digital Currency Exchanges, including capital adequacy…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 30 August 2021
28/08/2021
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Corporate plan (APRA): APRA has released itsnew corporate planuntil 2025, focusing key action items to: 1) preserve the resilience of banks, insurers and superannuation funds, with a continuing focus on financial strength; cyber risks; governance, risk-culture, remuneration and accountability; and implementing…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 28 June 2021
27/06/2021
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RegTech adoption (HKMA):the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)has launched a newRegtech Adoption Practice Guide seriesto provide banks with detailed practical guidance on the implementation of Regtech solutions. The publication of the Regtech Adoption Practice Guide series forms part of the HKMAs…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 19 April 2021
18/04/2021
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Lightspeed finance (ASIC):ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against credit assistance provider Lightspeed Finance Pty Ltd and its director Mark James Fitzpatrick for failing to comply with AFCA determinations. Failing to comply with determinations dating back to 2018 and 2019, which were accepted…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 15 February 2021
14/02/2021
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Remediation (ASIC):ASIC has released the latest statisticson repayments for customers who have suffered loss or detriment because offees for no serviceissues ornon-compliant advice. AMP, ANZ, CBA, Macquarie, NAB and Westpac have paid / offered a total of $1.24B in compensation, as at 31 December 2020…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 28 December 2020
28/12/2020
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Litigation funding (Parliament):the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services intoLitigation funding and the regulation of the class action industryhas been released. A scathing report, which agreed that the current regulatory overlay of the sector is too light, it contains some major recommendations…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 28 September 2020
27/09/2020
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AUSTRAC v Westpac (AML / CTF):in an action-packed week, the first entry is Westpacs agreement to pay the biggest fine in Australian corporate history, $1.3 billion (Westpac had provisioned $900M), to settle the proceedings brought in November 2019 by the AML / CTF regulator, AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC accused it of breaching…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 13 July 2020
12/07/2020
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Product intervention power (ASIC):following its first victory against Cigno Pty Ltd (which is now subject to appeal),ASIC is doubling down against the Gold Coast payday lender and has releasedConsultation Paper 330(CP 330) on the proposed use of its product intervention power to address significant detriment…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 27 April 2020
26/04/2020
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Prudential standards and FAR (APRA): APRA has announced new commencement dates for six prudential and reporting standards that have been finalised but are yet to fully come into effect. CPS 226 Margining and Risk Mitigation for Non-Centrally Cleared Derivatives (phase-in of initial margin requirements); APS 220…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 17 February 2020
18/02/2020
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Industry data (APRA): the prudential regulator has sent a consultation letter to theinsurance sectorproposing to publish a greater breadth of industry-aggregate data for the general insurance and life insurance sectors. Part of a broader trend towards greater availability of data e.g. open banking and mandatory credit reporting…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 23 December 2019
22/12/2019
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BEAR & Westpac (APRA):APRAhas confirmedthat it is investigating Westpac for breaches of theBanking Act 1959(Cth) including the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) or contraventions of APRAs prudential standards. The investigation centres on AUSTRACs allegations that Westpac breached AML / CTF laws 23…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 4 November 2019
03/11/2019
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RI Advice (ASIC): in August 2019, the AFR reported that ASIC was planning on putting up to 50 cases in court by Christmas??many from the Hayne Royal Commission. By my count, we are not even close, though we have about 2 months to go and the numbers are rising: ASIC has commenced a Federal Court…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 9 September 2019
10/09/2019
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Unfair conduct: the ACCCs Chairman, Rod Sims, has restated that a new unfair conduct provision shouldapply across the economy, replacing unconscionable conduct provisions in legislation (and in equitable law), which a number of interest groups and some judges consider too narrowly framed…
Australian regulators weekly wrap Monday 8 July 2019
08/07/2019
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Foreign licensing relief:ASIC released aconsultation paper(CP 315) proposing to provide licensing relief i.e. from the need to hold an AFSL for foreign financial services firms providing funds management advice to Australian professional investors. ASIC decided against giving relief for situations of reverse…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 1 July 2019
01/07/2019
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Responsible lending:following ASICs release of itsconsultation paperin February 2019 in respect of updating its guidance on responsible lending (RG 209), ASIC announced that it intends to hold public hearings concerned with responsible lending practices (a prominent theme in the recent Hayne Royal Commission)…
