Australia & NZ

ASIC is reviewing whether sales commissions paid by fund managers to brokers or financial advisers to sell funds compromise the best interests of investors.

The signing of the MOU brings the number of jurisdictions AUSTRAC shares regulatory intelligence with to five, on top of 93 MOUs it has with financial intelligence units.

A retail CBDC could ultimately hurt commercial banks, as it would translate to a fall in deposits and a reduction in the availability of funds for lending to households and businesses, the RBA says.

An ASIC review of advice files found a failure to make sufficient inquiries into client circumstances and existing financial products when providing advice.

ASX proposes to amend its trade cancellation policy for ASX 24 options and for the 20 Year Bond Futures contract to provide participants greater flexibility.

The services being offered by ABA member banks to help customers include fee waivers, loan repayment deferrals, and additional financing to help cover cash flow shortages.

The legislation will oblige ASIC and APRA to cooperate, share information with each other, and notify each other if they have a reasonable belief that there has been a breach of the other’s legislation.

The scheme will ensure that consumers and small businesses receive a payout in cases where compensation has been awarded but the financial services provider is unable to pay.

Participants said the exponential growth in data volume means the financial services industry must consider implementing regtech as an 'imperative' to undertake risk management and compliance functions.