The Reserve Bank of Australia says the ASX is not complying with important standards that are meant to prevent system failures in an escalation of regulatory concern about the sharemarket operator’s governance.

The RBA, one of the ASX’s two regulators, said the company had “not observed” standards on operational risk, and described “serious issues of concern that warrant immediate action”. It was the first time the RBA had formally assessed the ASX as not observing a key regulatory standard.