ASX given tick of approval

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has been given a clean bill of health by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in its latest annual assessment of the stock exchange’s market supervision role.

A report by ASIC to the Federal Government yesterday concludes the ASX has “adequate arrangements” for supervising the market in a “fair, orderly and transparent way”.

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy says the assessment reveals that ASX is “well run and supervised, and investors can have confidence in the market”.

“We’ve suggested some changes to ASX's supervisory arrangements to allow it continue to respond effectively to the changing demands on its role as a market supervisor,” Lucy says.

It is only the second assessment of the ASX under the Corporations Act, which authorises ASIC to conduct an annual assessment of the ASX’s role in supervising of the market.

The ASX’s supervision role includes handling conflicts between commercial interests, monitoring the conduct of participants, and enforcing compliance.

Some restructuring of the ASX’s supervisory areas to ensure a more co-ordinated approach and provide clearer lines of accountability was recommended by ASIC.

It also recommended the ASX review its arrangements for managing conflicts of interest and work towards greater consistency in monitoring and enforcing listing rules .

Lucy commended the ASX for having “already acted on a number of the report’s recommendations and indicating that it will change a number of other practices”.

He says the ASX “took an important step earlier this year by establishing a single division responsible for managing all of its core supervisory functions”.