AUSTRALIA

ASIC Consults on Fee, Cost Disclosures at Super, Managed Funds

By Editors | 10/01/2019

ASIC proposes new disclosure norms for superannuation and managed investment funds to boost transparency and comparability between funds.

Capital / Liquidity

New Zealand Banks Called Out for High Priority Amounts on Mortgages

By Editors | 09/01/2019

By setting mortgage priority amounts almost three times the home loan principal, banks are preventing borrowers from shopping around for a second mortgage.

Fintech / Regtech

Regulatory Reporting Pressure in APAC: A 2019 View

By Wouter Delbaere | 09/01/2019

In the year ahead, banks will have to focus on seamless data integration and regtech adoption to cope with increasingly complex regulatory reporting requirements, says Wolters Kluwer’s Wouter Delbaere.

Securities / Derivatives

Licensees Should Avoid Employee Allocations in Equity Raising – ASIC

By Editors | 21/12/2018

Following a review of allocations practices in equity raising transactions, ASIC said allocations to employees should be avoided as they can present conflicts of interest.

Capital / Liquidity

APRA Removes Cap on Interest-Only Lending

By Editors | 19/12/2018

Caps on investor and interest-only lending have served their purpose of moderating higher risk lending and improving lending standards, according to APRA chairman Wayne Byres.

Capital / Liquidity

APRA Asked to Reconsider Tough Stance on Capital Requirements

By Manesh Samtani | 19/12/2018

Australian banks are reportedly lobbying for APRA to loosen its tough stance on the capital requirements it proposed last month, as funding costs rise more than expected.

Fintech / Regtech

APRA Grants Second ‘Restricted ADI’ Licence

By Editors | 19/12/2018

Xinja Bank, the latest recipient of the restricted ADI licence, has a prepaid card on the market and an ASIC-approved home loan product.

Enforcement

ACCC to Get A$35mn to Pursue Anti-Competitive Behaviour

By Editors | 18/12/2018

New specialist investigators are expected to bring more competition cases to court each year and boost prosecutions of criminal cartels, especially in the financial sector.

AML / KYC

AUSTRAC Publishes AML/CTF Guidance for Superannuation Sector

By Editors | 17/12/2018

While superannuation is not traditionally associated with financial crime exploitation, AUSTRAC’s risk assessment has rated the sector as medium risk.