ASIC to begin FSR enforcement campaigns

THE Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will begin a series of campaigns targeting commissions and disclosure in a three-pronged strategy as part of its ongoing implementation of the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA).

Speaking at this year’s Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) conference in Brisbane, ASIC executive director Ian Johnston outlined the regulator’s approach to financial services reform, which includes targeting fraud and misconduct, raising industry standards, and implementing sound corporate governance standards at boardroom level.

But enforcement will be just as important as regulation, and ASIC will conduct a series of campaigns to target regulatory violators, Johnston says.

For example, ASIC will investigate unfair commission relationships between financial planners and financial institutions to seek out institutions paying unusually high commissions to distributors of their products. ASIC will also test compliance with disclosure regulations to ensure planners are telling clients when they earn commissions from the products they promote.

Last year, ASIC made considerable headway prosecuting violators at several large Australian corporations including HIH and OneTel, and corporate governance will continue to rank high on ASIC’s agenda into 2003, Johnston says.

He rejected the notion that excessive regulation can stifle innovation.

“Capital tends to flow to countries that are well regulated, so ASIC regulations are aimed at promoting Australian business.”