151-160 of 189 results
Linklaters: Key finance insights
The pandemic has shone blinding spotlights on existing areas of concern within competition law and accelerated attempts by policy makers to find solutions. ...
Superannuation trustees and 'efficiently, honestly and fairly'
The Federal Court has made declarations that two superannuation fund trustees contravened ss912A(1)(a) (efficient, honest and fair obligation) and 1041H (misleading or deceptive conduct) of the Corporations Act, and s12DA (misleading or deceptive conduct) of the ASIC Act. ...
ASIC issues hardship withdrawal relief to responsible entities
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASIC has provided relief reminiscent of the GFC to allow hardship withdrawals from frozen funds. The COVID-19 version of hardship-relief goes further than its GFC predecessor in many respects. We provide an overview of the issue. ...
'Winding back' responsible lending obligations
The Government announced a simplification to Australia's consumer credit regulatory regime, which has been widely reported as a 'wind back' or 'axing' of the responsible lending obligations (RLOs) under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (Credit Act). Learn more from our experts. ...
Act fast, act well: Federal Court decision reinforces the importance of robust compliance programs for banks and other financial services licensees
Chief Justice Allsop of the Federal Court recently imposed on a bank, by consent of ASIC and the bank, civil penalties totalling $10 million for unconscionable conduct in carrying out an inadequate customer remediation process. It highlights the importance of banks and other financial services licensees having in place robust compliance programs and taking prompt and comprehensive action where possible non-compliance is identified. ...
RG 272 – bringing order through product intervention
Following its consultation in June last year, ASIC has now published RG 272, setting out ASIC's approach to using its product intervention powers. In this update, we examine the scope of this power and the accompanying regulatory guidance. ...
Superannuation, funds and insurance sector reforms: the year ahead in 2020 and beyond
As the dust settles on a raft of COVID-19 related disruptions to various proposed legislative and regulatory reforms, the Allens team takes stock of the current regulatory reform proposals in the superannuation, funds and insurance sectors which have been mooted for the tail end of 2020 and early 2021. ...
Financial advice relief – all talk and no-action
We said at the outset of this pandemic that financial advice will play an important role in supporting members who are considering whether to access their super early. Alive to that, ASIC recently released a series of measures to facilitate access to financial advice ...
The simple case of the SIS Act 'best interests' obligation
Commissioner Hayne's comments in his final report, and the surge of community interest in super, have resulted in a renaissance of sorts for the 'best interests' obligation. ...
Treasurer temporarily amends continuous disclosure laws during COVID-19 crisis
The Treasurer has used his emergency powers under the Corporations Act (the Act) to temporarily modify the operation of Australia's continuous disclosure laws. The Treasurer's release states that the changes are designed to enable listed companies to more confidently provide earnings guidance ...