Australia

Fintech / Regtech

Australia Senate Committee Releases Fintech, Regtech Issues Paper

By Editors | 25/10/2019

The issues paper identifies five key factors for the fintech and regtech sectors which the committee will focus its attention on in a year long inquiry.

Enforcement

ACCC Mortgage Pricing Inquiry to Extend Beyond Mortgage Pricing

By Editors | 24/10/2019

ACCC chairman Rod Sims reportedly told a parliamentary hearing that bundling products such as credit cards and insurance would form part of the agency’s inquiry.

Market Infrastructure

Australia: Smaller Institutions, Buy Side Less Prepared for Libor Cessation

By Manesh Samtani | 24/10/2019

Existing Libor-referencing contracts that don’t have robust fallback provisions in place will be tied up in very lengthy disputes, warned the RBA’s Christopher Kent at ISDA’s Australia Conference.

Market Infrastructure

ASIC, ESMA Sign MOU to Cooperate on Benchmarks

By Editors | 22/10/2019

The MoU sets out cooperation arrangements to complement the EU’s July equivalence decision, as well as to ensure effective information exchange and supervisory coordination.

AML / KYC

New Zealand FX Broker Issued Formal Warning for AML Violations

By Editors | 21/10/2019

Forex brokerage Circle Markets Limited did not dispute the FMA’s findings, and its sole director admitted to not fully understanding his AML/CFT obligations.

Australia to Ban Grandfathered Conflicted Remuneration from 2021

By Editors | 19/10/2019

The bill to end the payment of grandfathered conflicted remuneration to financial advisers has now passed in the Senate, after passed in the House of Representatives last month.

Capital / Liquidity

APRA Proposes Banks Hold More Capital Against Large Subsidiaries

By Editors | 18/10/2019

APRA proposes to increase the amount of capital banks need to hold to support investments in large subsidiaries, such as their New Zealand units.

Market Infrastructure

Disclosure Can Contribute to Customer Harm: ASIC

By Editors | 17/10/2019

Disclosure can backfire in unexpected and harmful ways and should not be relied upon by itself to drive good consumer outcomes, ASIC says in a joint report with the Dutch regulator.

Enforcement

ASIC Grants Advisers Relief From Compliance Obligation

By Editors | 16/10/2019

ASIC will grant a three-year exemption from the obligation to ensure that financial advisers are covered by a compliance scheme, and from the associated notification obligations.