Australia

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

Australian Regulators Under Scrutiny for Accepting Industry Gifts

By Garima Chitkara | 23/01/2019

ASIC was reportedly found to have accepted expensive gifts and hospitality from financial firms including Macquarie Bank even as it was under multiple investigations by the corporate regulator.

Supervision & Enforcement

ASIC Officials Fear Excessive Focus on Litigation – Report

By Editors | 21/01/2019

While ASIC officials talk up plans to fund more court cases, behind the scenes they are reportedly concerned about the community backlash and loss of confidence if cases are lost.

Capital Adequacy

RBNZ Bank Capital Proposal Excessive, Expensive, Unnecessary – UBS

By Editors | 21/01/2019

The RBNZ’s endeavours to strengthen the banks could come at a significant cost to the New Zealand economy, UBS has said in a research note.

Structural Regulation

Productivity Commission Identifies Structural Flaws in Super Sector

By Editors | 11/01/2019

Superannuation members could benefit by an estimated A$3.8bn if two main structural problems were fixed, says the Productivity Commission in a new report.

Structural Regulation

What ASIC’s New Product Intervention Powers Will Mean

By Melody Gao | 11/01/2019

Melody Gao at Sydney-based financial services consultancy firm Sophie Grace explains the implications of a bill to impose new design and distribution obligations on issuers and grant ASIC product intervention powers.

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

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.

Structural Regulation

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.

Emerging Prudential Risks

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.

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

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.