ASIC approves banking code variations

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has approved variations to the banking code of practice proposed by the Australian Banking Association (ABA).

The approved variations included:

• Amended the code’s definition of “banking services” to address an anomaly in the code’s previous wording that had the unintended result of excluding certain types of small business banking customers who would otherwise meet the code’s definition of “small business”;
• Made some minor amendments to the code’s definition of “small business”;
• Extended the application of the code’s COVID-19 Special Note, which allowed for special application of specified code provisions in light of the extraordinary external environment caused by COVID-19, for a further six months until 1 September, 2021;
• Specify situations in which banks might decline to continue dealing with a representative that a customer in financial difficulty had appointed, if the bank reasonably considers that representative was no longer able to act in the customer’s best interests; and
• Aligned the Code’s timeframes for responding to complaints with the updated timeframes in ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 271 Internal dispute resolution, which is due to commence on 5 October, 2021.

ASIC previously approved the code in December 2019, which commenced on 1 March, 2020.

On 1 January 2021, as part of the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Bill 2020, a new framework commenced for ASIC’s approval of codes of conduct.