ASIC gets busy putting fear into corporate Australia
ASIC’s recent run of cases against high-profile companies in Australia is hard to ignore, and some say it shows chair Joe Longo is keen on a second term.
As an Florentine author once said, it is better to be feared than loved, and it appears from recent months the corporate regulator has taken the missive to heart, with its latest lashings of HSBC marking the end of a busy year for lawyers and regulators alike.
Pointing the finger at HSBC on Monday, Australian Securities & Investments Commission deputy chair Sarah Court wasn’t one to mince words, warning the regulator was sending a message to the bank and banking industry broadly.
But ASIC is also sending a message to corporate Australia, if they haven’t got the message from the last few months of rolling court filings against the great and mighty.
Among the prospective casualties cited in a Monday morning press conference, ASIC ticked off cases against Rex and several of its directors, ASX over its CHESS flop, NAB over allegedly failing to field financial hardship requests, as well as the bungles at superannuation giant Cbus, allegedly ignoring grieving families and wounded members. To add a few names to the list, ASIC can also claim wins over crypto player Kraken; ANZ, which is also facing a looming investigation over alleged market manipulation; and a grab bag of dodgy directors and bad actors across the business landscape.
The pointed message comes in the wake of Liberal senator Andrew Bragg’s lengthy critique of the watchdog and its enforcement record which was published in July this year.
The Bragg report depicted a seemingly meek and timid regulator as much at war with itself over past years as it was terrified of losing court fights with corporate crooks.
Senator Bragg was stinging in his criticism of ASIC, amid repeated sittings of parliamentary committees, often focusing on chair Joe Longo and former deputy chair Karen Chester.
The report even called for ASIC to be split, with one body to tackle financial regulation and another to handle broader matters relating to companies and the corporate sector.
Mr Longo took on the top job at ASIC in October 2021, after being appointed by former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in April in the wake of turmoil at ASIC.
His term runs out in 2026, with many in the ASIC orbit widely expecting the son of a greengrocer to be contemplating seeking another term at the top.
It’s perhaps unsurprising then that ASIC has been spraying corporate Australia with litigation targeted at the boardrooms, the golden handshake society charged with shepherding the economy in exchange for huge board fees.
There’s no better way to argue for another trip around the sun as an ASIC chair than with a few scalps in hand.
Equally, the Albanese government seems happy to let ASIC beat up on corporate Australia; many may have backed the prime minister’s voice referendum but otherwise bat for those who wear blue.
The looming ANZ case may prove among the biggest tests for ASIC and the new team assembled under Mr Longo, with few keen to see a repeat of the regulator’s $50m “victory” on its BBSW investigation.
ASIC is warning of a busy 2025. Watch this space.
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