December 2024
ASX scrambles to fix CHESS settlements outage as traders fume
At lunchtime on Friday as many stockbrokers went to end-of-year lunches, the market operator said its batch payments had failed, threatening a cash flow crunch.
- James Eyers
November 2024
ASIC’s Joe Longo named Time climate crusader
This feels like 2011, when Euromoney opened our eyes to the charms of Wayne Swan.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Regulation
There’s a simple way to simplify the red tape strangling business
The Australian Law Reform Commission has set out a blueprint to fix our financial service laws mess. It must not be allowed to gather dust.
- Glenda Hanson
Macquarie boss says accountability matters after ASIC jibe
After being slapped with a record fine for failing to monitor energy futures markets, the bank pledged to identify root causes and hold staff accountable.
- James Eyers
September 2024
- Exclusive
- Workplace
‘I would not recommend ASIC’: scathing assessment by staff
The results of a confidential cultural survey make for embarrassing reading on staff motivation, satisfaction and the regulator’s leadership team.
- Patrick Durkin and Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Cyber Summit
ASIC pursues board directors over cyber breaches
ASIC says more investigations are underway, scrutinising how boards and directors have responded to cyberattacks.
- Tess Bennett
Anti-corruption commission clears former ASIC deputy Karen Chester
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has sought to protect against unfair reputation damage, clearing former ASIC deputy chairman Karen Chester of corrupt behaviour
- Tom Burton
August 2024
ASIC budget set to fall despite warnings on resourcing
The corporate regulator’s annual budget appropriation will be $6 million lower in 2027-28 compared with last financial year, but when adjusted by inflation the cut is much bigger.
- Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Legal profession
Senior silks command up to $25k a day, but ASIC, ACCC pay under $5k
Bar associations are sounding the alarm about the situation, which has left regulators relying on an evaporating pool of experienced barristers.
- Ronald Mizen
- Updated
- Regulation
ASIC alleges ASX misled the market for months on botched CHESS upgrade
The sharemarket operator faces a maximum fine of more than $500 million if found by the Federal Court to have made misleading statements about the project.
- Updated
- James Eyers and Elouise Fowler
July 2024
- Analysis
- White collar crime
Inside the push to break up ASIC
ASIC chairman Joe Longo says the corporate cop is finally turning a corner, but there are plenty of critics who think the only answer for ASIC is ‘radical change’.
- Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
ASIC mulls crackdown on market-moving media leaks
Under what is known in the United Kingdom as the “put up or shut up” rule, bidders that fail to act before their time limit ends would be barred for up to six months from launching a second attempt.
- Updated
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Top Barrenjoey banker’s two fixes to restart IPOs
Barrenjoey co-executive chairman Guy Fowler says rethinking prospectus forecasts and some other reforms could help revive the quiet IPO market.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Exclusive
- White collar crime
We suspect ANZ broke the law in $14b bond sale: ASIC
Chairman Joe Longo, in a wide-ranging interview, also detailed initiatives to crack down on insider trading, interventions in the private credit market, and hit back at claims ASIC is a “toothless tiger”.
- Ronald Mizen and Jonathan Shapiro
- Opinion
- Insider trading
How ASIC’s new insider-trader busting system works
The securities industry regulator is getting better at catching insider traders. But the cohort of offenders is so dumb it may not make a difference.
- Tony Boyd
Labor plays down call to break up ASIC, talks up whistleblower rewards
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was on Wednesday accused of being a “toothless tiger” in the final report of a 20-month Senate inquiry.
- Ronald Mizen
Call for ‘toothless tiger’ ASIC to be split in two
A 20-month Senate inquiry found the watchdog should be split into a companies regulator and a separate financial conduct authority.
- Ronald Mizen
June 2024
ASIC warns banks not to become complacent with new code
ASIC has approved a new Banking Code of Practice, but chairman Joe Longo says lenders must be alive to the dangers of “apathy, complacency and backsliding”.
- James Eyers
Labor open to more ASIC funding to deter ‘existential threat’
Labor has increased ASIC’s funding by almost $200 million in the May budget, but the regulator says it needs more money to modernise its enforcement.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Red tape driving shift from public markets to private equity
While the downward trajectory of listed company numbers is a global phenomenon, changes to governance principles have exacerbated this decline here.
- Dimitri Burshtein