ASIC wined and dined by Macquarie Group, Bank of China
With the spotlight already hot on industry regulators, The Age’s discovery that they have been “wined, dined and given corporate gifts without scrutiny” cannot have been a welcome one at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The newspaper found that both ASIC and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had received gifts from those they regulated, including vintage wines, dinners, concert dinners, and airline upgrades.
It reported that Macquarie Group was one such party to wine and dine ASIC, and that the ACCC being guests of Energy Australia for dinner less than a year before Scott Morrison commissioned the regulator run an inquiry into the retail electricity industry.
The gifts uncovered by the publication were done so through freedom of information requests and media pressure; while they keep gift and hospitality records, the regulators do not publish them as a matter of course.
Gifts received by ASIC from 2014 – 2017 included a private label Barossa Valley wine from the Bank of China, an Emirates international flight upgrade, and tickets to the Byron Bay Bluesfest. The regulator refused to provide 2018’s gift register.
AUTHOR
Hannah Wootton
Recommended for you
The Governance Institute has said ASIC’s governance arrangements are no longer “fit for purpose” in a time when financial markets are quickly innovating and cyber crime becomes a threat.
Compliance professionals working in financial services are facing burnout risk as higher workloads, coupled with the ever-changing regulation, place notable strain on staff.
The Senate economics legislation committee has recommended Schedule 1 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislation be passed as it is a “faithful implementation” of the recommendations.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down his third budget, outlining the government’s macroeconomic forecasts and changes to superannuation.
