Australia

CBDCs

RBA Selects Use Cases to be Tested in Live CBDC Pilot

By Manesh Samtani | 03/03/2023

ANZ is involved in four case proposals; CBA is involved in two. Mastercard and Cuscal propose to use CBDC to enable consumers to buy NFTs.

Reporting & Disclosures

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.

Trading & Investment

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.

Reporting & Disclosures

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’.

Cybersecurity

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”.

Data Privacy

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.

Clearing & Post-Trade

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.

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

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The draft guidance covers any situation where an intermediary is involved in the distribution of a financial institution’s products or services.

Anti-Money Laundering

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.