ESG / Sustainability

UK, Singapore Commit to Deepening Regulatory Cooperation

01/07/2021

Officials agree to explore cross-border financial regulation, carbon market trading linkages, and collaboration opportunities via their BIS Innovation Hub centres.

MAS Proposes New Safeguards for Vulnerable Customers

30/06/2021

MAS proposes additional safeguards for clients receiving financial advice if they are elderly, not proficient in English, or have lower academic qualifications.

Enforcement

ASIC Product Intervention Order Upheld in Full Federal Court

30/06/2021

ASIC is entitled to consider not just the characteristics of a relevant financial product, but also the particular circumstances in which it is supplied, the Court said.

Australia Introduces Bill to Improve Financial Advice

30/06/2021

FASEA’s functions will transfer to the Treasury and ASIC. New disciplinary and registration systems for financial advisers will apply from January 2022.

Securities / Derivatives

Singapore to Continue Electronic Dissemination of Offer Documents

29/06/2021

The extension of the temporary measure will allow rights issues and take-over or merger transactions to proceed within prevailing safe management measures.

AML / KYC

CBA Contractors May Have Cut Corners on Compliance Tasks

29/06/2021

Contract workers reportedly had to cut corners on compliance tasks to meet their KPIs, including by copy and pasting text from templates to fill reports sent to AUSTRAC.

AML / KYC

AUSTRAC Assesses Risk in Non-bank Lending & Financing Sector

29/06/2021

The main threat facing the non-bank lending and financing sector is fraud, particularly loan application fraud, identity fraud and welfare fraud.

Market Infrastructure

FSB Launches Review of Corporate Debt Workouts

29/06/2021

Feedback is invited from financial institutions, corporates, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in relation to out of court debt workouts.

Fintech / Regtech

MAS Launches Global Challenge for Retail CBDC Solutions

29/06/2021

Fintechs, financial institutions and solution providers from around the world are invited to submit innovative solutions that can address 12 problem statements.