Australia

AML / KYC

Westpac Internal Probes Identify More AML Breaches

By Editors | 04/05/2020

Westpac has identified an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 threshold transaction reports that were not reported to AUSTRAC, and potential problems with its FATCA and CRS compliance.

Super Funds Pay Out A$1.3b in First Week of Early Release Scheme

By Editors | 04/05/2020

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that super funds may have paid out A$7.1bn in total, including the second week of the initiative.

Big Picture

Australia, NZ, China, Japan Get Low Grades on Fund Regulation, Tax

By Editors | 01/05/2020

Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan are among the nations that have received the lowest scores on tax settings and regulatory regimes for the managed funds industry, according to a new Morningstar study.

Capital / Liquidity

RBNZ Removes LVR Restrictions on Mortgage Lending

By Editors | 30/04/2020

All locally incorporated banks who responded to the one-week consultation were in favour of removing LVR restrictions, saying it would allow them to better support their customers.

Enforcement

ASIC Quadrupled Criminal Charges Laid in H2 2019

By Editors | 30/04/2020

In the six months to December 2019, ASIC did not have any new enforceable undertakings, reflecting its post-Royal Commission ‘why not litigate’ approach to enforcement.

Market Infrastructure

ACCC Finds Transparency, Competition Issues in Mortgage Market

By Editors | 27/04/2020

The time taken to pass on announced interest rate reductions to customers varied across the big four banks, with revenue being a key motivator. CBA consistently had the longest lag period.

Fintech / Regtech

Open Banking: ACCC Allows Flexibility to Delay Product Data Sharing

By Editors | 26/04/2020

Non-major banks, building societies and credit unions can delay sharing product reference data until 1 November, but are encouraged to begin sharing this data “if they are in a position to do so”.

Enforcement

FMA to Grant ‘No-Action’ Relief for Regulatory Breaches

By Editors | 24/04/2020

The ‘no action’ relief can be provided case-by-case to market participants who breach, or expect to breach, a regulatory obligation as a result of Covid-19 circumstances.

Aussie Majors to Provide Bridging Loans to Businesses Awaiting Subsidies

By Editors | 24/04/2020

ANZ, NAB, Westpac and CBA have agreed to set up new dedicated hotlines and expedite the processing of bridge financing applications as businesses wait to be paid wage subsidies.