ASIC in offshore crackdown

TheAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) has joined forces with financial services regulators in the US, UK and Hong Kong in an international compliance crackdown.

The first investigation of an international financial services institution is now underway, and ASIC director for financial services Ian Johnston says each regulator is examining various compliance matters in each country.

While Johnston says this is not the first time ASIC has teamed up with an offshore regulator to investigate an international institution due to complaint, he says this worldwide compliance campaign is the first of its kind.

“This is the first time we’ve undertaken a strategic, co-ordinated compliance campaign, which means we’re looking at an institution simply because it works on a global basis, not because of any complaints or suspected breaches of law,” Johnston says.

“With this campaign, there doesn’t need to be any suspicion for us to investigate a company. It just makes sense to do it on a pre-emptive basis.”

Johnston says the campaign is an important part of ASIC’s increasingly strategic and risk-based approach to regulation, in the face of changing global regulation.

With the financial services market becoming increasingly global, securities regulators from around the world are now working together on emerging issues, international practices and standards for regulation.

Johnston says ASIC will continue to work with its international partner regulators and carry out co-ordinated compliance visits on multinational groups.

The equivalent bodies in the other countries are the Financial Services Authority in the UK and the securities regulator in Hong Kong and the Securities Exchange Commission in the US.

The regulators expect to wrap up the first investigation by September this year, at which time the name of the company involved will be released, on the condition the regulators find fault with the group.