Author Archives: ETE

On 23 July 2024, Mr Justice Rajah in the High Court of Justice approved the Joint Special Administrators’ (JSAs) plan for returning client money and custody assets to WealthTek clients. This follows action taken by the FCA last year to protect clients from further harm after discovering serious regulatory and operational issues. The JSAs will […]

On 1 July 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Act 2023 came into force, extending the financial reporting and auditing obligations under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) to most registrable superannuation entities (funds). Superannuation trustees are now required to lodge audited financial reports for each fund within three […]

Pedro Eduardo Sasso, the director of Maxi EFX Global AU Pty Ltd (EuropeFX), has been banned by ASIC from being a director of or controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business. EuropeFX was the corporate authorised representative (CAR) of former Australian financial services licensee, Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (in liquidation) […]

ASIC has suspended Melbourne-based credit licensee John Adicho from engaging in credit assistance activities for a period of six months until 18 December 2024. Mr Adicho had been expelled from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority due to non-payment of fees, had failed to lodge six annual compliance certificates, and had failed to pay industry funding […]

ASIC’s annual insolvency data shows more than 11,000 companies entered external administration for the first time in 2023-24. While this is slightly higher than prior peaks seen in 2011–12 and 2012–13, it is proportionately smaller as there are now nearly 3.4 million companies in Australia compared to around two million in 2012. The current ratio […]

ASIC has launched civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against COFCO International Australia Pty Ltd and COFCO Resources SA alleging the companies manipulated the ASX24 market for Eastern Australia Wheat futures January 2023 (WMF3) contracts. ASIC alleges COFCO manipulated contracts on 34 occasions between 17 January 2022 and 3 March 2022, placing orders shortly […]

£106m in redress has now been offered to 1,870 former British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members to put them back in the position they would have been at retirement. More than 6,500 former members have been supported by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or through our redress scheme. We have […]

Banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services, like branches and ATMs, and plug significant gaps, under new FCA rules. From 18 September, banks and building societies will need to: assess cash access and understand if additional services are needed, when changes are being made to […]

ASIC’s latest market cleanliness report has shown Australia’s equity markets continue to operate with a high level of integrity and remain consistently among the cleanest in the world. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Clean financial markets are essential for the financial wellbeing of Australians and fundamental to an efficient economy. They enable business to raise […]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published an Opinion on the Sustainable Finance Regulatory Framework, setting out possible long-term improvements. ESMA acknowledges that the EU Sustainable Finance Framework is already well developed and includes safeguards against greenwashing. At the same time, ESMA considers that, in […]