Senate inquiry into ASIC drives up workload
The Senate Committee of inquiry into the performance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is proving to be time-consuming not only for the regulator but many of the major banks and insurers.
This is because those submissions lodged with the Senate inquiry which reference matters concerning entities such as the Commonwealth Bank, NRMA Insurance or ING Direct are actually being referred to those companies for their responses.
In a number of instances, the matters raised with the Senate inquiry have already been handled by either ASIC itself or the Financial Ombudsman Service.
With the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott scheduled to announce his new Cabinet today and with Parliament expected to resume in late October, the Senate committee is likely to resume its proceedings and move to public hearings before the end of the year.
The Senate Committee of Inquiry was established following newspaper reports over ASIC's handling of the enforceable undertaking entered into by Commonwealth Financial Planning in 2010, but the process is expected to traverse a broader range of issues including the regulator's handling of matters related to the Future of Financial Advice changes.
The inquiry is also expected to traverse ASIC's handling of the collapse of Storm Financial and Trio/Astarra.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
Professional services group AZ NGA has made its first acquisition since announcing a $240 million strategic partnership with US manager Oaktree Capital Management in September.
As Insignia Financial looks to bolster its two financial advice businesses, Shadforth and Bridges, CEO Scott Hartley describes to Money Management how the firm will achieve these strategic growth plans.
Centrepoint Alliance says it is “just getting started” as it looks to drive growth via expanding all three streams of advisers within the business.
AFCA’s latest statistics have shed light on which of the major licensees recorded the most consumer complaints in the last financial year.
