APRA confirms super funds facing possible RC action

APRA/super-funds/superannuation-funds/RC/Royal-Commission/legal-action/australian-prudential-regulation-authority/Helen-Rowell/IOOF/AMP-Limited/john-lonsdale/

14 August 2019
| By Mike |
image
image
expand image

A number of superannuation funds are facing the prospect of legal action being initiated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on the basis of referrals from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

What is more, that action could be initiated as early as next month.

APRA has revealed to a Parliamentary Committee that most of the referrals made to it from the Royal Commission are in the superannuation space but did not specify which funds or firms were involved.

Under questioning before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, APRA deputy chair, Helen Rowell noted that the regulator had initiated action against IOOF and that it had issued directions and imposed licence conditions on both IOOF and AMP Limited.

However, she said that APRA had a number of other enforcement activities in train.

In particular, the Royal Commission referrals are being closely examined, and we are well progressed in doing that. Most of those are in the superannuation space. I can't give you the precise numbers of those different categories of enforcement type activities, but certainly over the last 12 to 18 months there has been a significant increase. 

Later, APRA’s other deputy chairman, John Lonsdale said that the regulator had 12 referrals that it had been put to it by the Royal Commission and that it had sought external legal advice about whether or not a case existed which could be taken to court.

“We're expecting the bulk of those 12 to be assessed in the sense of coming to a view on whether we could go forward with a case around September, certainly before the end of the year, but most of them, I think, by around September. Then, if there is a case, we will move forward with that,” he said.

However, Lonsdale also noted that, in a number of instances, the issues referred by the Royal Commission carried no penalty.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

2 months ago

Glad to see the back of you Steve. You made financial more expensive, not more affordable as you claim, and presided ...

2 months ago

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 months 1 week ago

A Sydney financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing any financial services, with the regulator deriding his “lack of integrity, trustworthiness and prof...

3 weeks 2 days ago

Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has provided further information about the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms....

2 weeks ago

One licensee has lost 27 advisers in the past week, now sitting at zero, according to the latest Wealth Data figures....

3 weeks 2 days ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS