Australia

ESG / Sustainability

NZX Amends Corporate Governance Code to Raise ESG Bar

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 02/03/2023

The amendments cover ethics training, director independence, diversity policies, conflicts of interest, and ESG and climate reporting.

Market Infrastructure

ASX Issues 3rd Consultation on Measures for Handling Outages

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 02/03/2023

ASX is consulting on enhancements to its test strategy, interconnectedness with other market operators, and its BCP strategy.

Enforcement

ASIC Commences First Court Action for Alleged Greenwashing

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 28/02/2023

ASIC alleges Mercer Superannuation made misleading statements about investment options that were marketed as suitable for members ‘deeply committed to sustainability’.

Market Infrastructure

Australia Seeks Input to Craft New 7-Year Cyber Security Strategy

By Editors | 28/02/2023

A new discussion paper released by the government says the Optus and Medibank incidents made clear that the government was “ill-equipped to respond”.

Fintech / Regtech

UK, Australia Should Draw Open Banking Lessons from Each Other

By Mark Johnston | 26/02/2023

NatWest and National Australia Bank published a white paper drawing lessons from the UK and Australia’s open banking implementations.

Market Infrastructure

ASIC Directs ASX to Produce ‘Special Reports’ on CHESS System

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 23/02/2023

The reports will help ensure ASX is adequately addressing findings from an external review, and whether any further regulatory action is warranted.

NZ FMA Drafts New Conduct Guidance for Financial Products Sales

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 22/02/2023

The draft guidance covers any situation where an intermediary is involved in the distribution of a financial institution’s products or services.

AML / KYC

AUSTRAC Accepts Enforceable Undertaking from Cash Converters

By Editors | 22/02/2023

The personal finance company’s AML/CTF programme was not properly implemented and did not include sufficient details on transaction monitoring and CDD.

Crypto / Digital Assets

Australian Crypto Exchange Reopens After FTX Loss

By Editors | 22/02/2023

Customers of Digital Surge are allowed to make deposits, withdrawals, and trade, months after AUD 33 million of its digital assets became locked up in FTX.