Australia & NZ

The RBNZ's bond-buying programme will be capped at NZ$60bn, up from the NZ$33bn announced in March. Government inflation-indexed bonds are also now included.

Australia's superannuation early access scheme was temporarily suspended late last week due to fraud. It has since resumed, with enhancements to increase the end-to-end security.

A 'strategic risk-based approach' to compliance and enforcement has been adopted, focusing on building consumer confidence in the security and integrity of the Consumer Data Right system.

In line with the Treasury's announcement, ASIC has deferred mortgage broker reforms and the introduction of product design and distribution obligations.

Five search warrants have so far been executed in relation to the fraud, and bank accounts containing AUD 120,000 in stolen super money have so far been frozen.

APRA says banks may allow borrowers to change their loan conditions without conducting a normal serviceability assessment, but that such an arrangement should not exceed 12 months.

Pershing Securities Australia, a BNY Mellon subsidiary, is the first company in Australia to face criminal prosecution for breaching client money provisions.

Westpac has identified an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 threshold transaction reports that were not reported to AUSTRAC, and potential problems with its FATCA and CRS compliance.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that super funds may have paid out A$7.1bn in total, including the second week of the initiative.

Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan are among the nations that have received the lowest scores on tax settings and regulatory regimes for the managed funds industry, according to a new Morningstar study.