Bank divestments will increase competition says ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has forecast that a “new competitive dynamic” will evolve out of the banks’ recent divestment of life and wealth management businesses.
The regulator’s corporate plan for 2018-2022 has pointed to the divestments and the move away from vertical integration as being a key element, together with the competition recommendations flowing from the Productivity Commission’s (PC’s) recent findings and the proposal to give ASIC competition powers.
Importantly, the ASIC corporate plan has also pointed to growing demand for financial advice, citing data showing that demand for financial advice among Australian adults is growing steadily, with around 9,4 million people (52 per cent) having unmet advice needs in 2017.
It said that while the number of Australians who had seen an adviser in the past decade had actually declined, the number of adults who intended to use a financial adviser over the next two years was forecast to rise.
This was not withstanding factors such as consumers believing they had insufficient wealth and concerns about the cost of advice.
Recommended for you
Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has shared further details on the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms including modernising best interests duty and reforming Statements of Advice.
The Federal Court has found a company director guilty of operating unregistered managed investment schemes and carrying on a financial services business without holding an AFSL.
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.
