Category: Press Releases

The Federal Court has ordered American Express Australia Limited (Amex) to pay $8 million in penalties for breaching the design and distribution obligations (DDO) in relation to two co-branded credit cards which were primarily distributed to customers in David Jones stores. The Court found Amex breached the design and distribution obligations as a credit card...

Under legislation adopted by Parliament, financial firms are required to do extra checks on so-called politically exposed persons (PEPs). This follows global standards set by the international Financial Action Task Force and implemented by more than 200 jurisdictions. There have been concerns about how firms in the UK are meeting these requirements and so the...

ASIC has banned former directors and responsible managers of XTrade.AU Pty Ltd (XTrade), Mr Shay Zakhaim and Mr Anthony Anderson, from carrying on of a financial services business, either as a director or responsible manager, for three and five years respectively. XTrade offered clients opportunities to trade in contracts for difference (CFDs) and foreign exchange...

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, published today its Follow-up Report to the Wirecard Fast Track Peer Review assessing the progress made with respect to the recommendations formulated in 2020. This report follows up on the implementation of the recommendations made in the previous Wirecard Fast Track Peer...

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) published today the second batch of policy products under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This batch consists of four final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS), one set of Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) and 2 guidelines, all of which aim at enhancing the...

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, today launched a consultation on draft technical standards specifying the criteria for how investment firms establish and assess the effectiveness of their order execution policies. The objective of the proposed technical standards is to foster investor protection by enhancing investment firms’...

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, together with the National Competent Authorities (NCAs), completed an analysis of the cross-border provision of investment services during 2023. The data sets were collected from investment firms across 30 jurisdictions in the EU/EEA. The main findings include: A total of around...

The Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are seeking views on the benefits and risks digital wallets bring to people and businesses. The use of digital wallets has grown rapidly over the last few years, and it’s likely that more than half of UK adults now use one. With Apple Pay, Google...

Bank customers on low incomes, including First Nations customers, will be refunded over $28 million dollars after a first-of-its-kind ASIC review revealed four Australian banks systemically charged high fees to those customers who could least afford it. ASIC’s Report 785 Better banking for Indigenous Consumers (REP 785) found that the ANZ, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank,...

Companies (including corporate collective investment vehicles (CCIVs)) and registered schemes can hold virtual-only meetings of members if expressly required or permitted by their constitutions. For the 2024 annual general meeting (AGM) season, companies should ensure their constitutions have been amended if they wish to hold virtual-only meetings of members. The Government has appointed an independent...