En Garde for the Mortgage Broker Referral Regime
Introduction Information sharing and stricter reporting obligations are key to most reforms to financial services law since the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Service Industry. Mortgage brokers are about to be subject to the double-edged sword that is the Mortgage Broker Referral Regime, expected to come into play for all […]
ReadmoreConflicted remuneration – mortgage brokers’ tricky year ahead
The Federal Treasury has released the long-awaited regulations which will govern mortgage broker remuneration from 1 January 2021, the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers) (Mortgage Brokers) Regulations 2020 (Regulations). It follows the release of the draft regulations and explanatory statement in August 2019. The Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response – […]
ReadmoreHow ASIC’s new product intervention power may be used in the future – looking overseas for clues
In this briefing, we provide an overview of the Australian PIP regime, compare it to overseas regimes and list some of the products which have been banned in Australia and under comparable regimes overseas. This briefing offers an insight into the types of products that ASIC may intervene on in the next few years. Download […]
ReadmoreWebinar | Climbing ladders, avoiding snakes and using your own dice – internal investigations
Project failure, misconduct and probity, amongst a much longer list, are all potential catalysts for the now ubiquitous “internal investigation”, a process which of itself should ring warning bells in any organization for both investigator and subject. This practical session will offer guidance for public entities conducting internal investigations, including on framing issues, progression through […]
ReadmoreUnfair contract terms and the burden of knowledge…
On 28 May 2020, the first case on unfair contract terms for bank contracts was handed down by the Federal Court of Australia in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited [2020] FCA 716 (ASIC v Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited). The court found certain clauses in the contract’s terms and […]
ReadmoreASIC’s guidance to mortgage brokers on their ‘best interests’ duty – time to act!
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has just released RG 273, which sets out its view on how mortgage brokers may comply with their ‘best interests’ obligations which commence in January 2021. The guidance follows the passing, on 6 February 2020, of the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response – Protecting Customers (2019 […]
ReadmoreLitigation funders’ new regulatory requirements – practical issues and the impact on class actions
Changing times The Federal Treasurer has announced that all litigation funders will soon be required to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL), which will dramatically increase the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) regulatory oversight over those funders who do not already hold an AFSL. The announcement follows the Federal Attorney General’s referral to […]
ReadmoreThe Impending General Prohibition of Hawking Financial Products and what this will mean for Financial Service Providers
The Federal Government is preparing to introduce the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers (2020 Measures)) Bill 2020: Hawking of financial products (the Bill) in response to the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that all hawking of insurance and superannuation products should […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Verification of identity – the need to go digital
All of the states (but not the territories) require mortgagees to undertake reasonable steps to verify the identities of mortgagors, commonly through a framework called the “Verification of Identity Standard” (VOI Standard) undertaken by specialised “Identity Agents” e.g. lawyers or other agents with professional indemnity insurance. Where they do not, and the mortgage instrument is […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Regulatory wave needs to crash against COVID-19 wall
With the recent coronavirus pandemic, the current regulatory wave may see unique changes, with lawyers and GCs needing to prepare as uncertainty sweeps through businesses. It is no secret that the financial services industry entered this year riding a regulatory wave in the wake of the Hayne royal commission’s findings of widespread misconduct. There has […]
ReadmoreWhat is good for the goose…climate change disclosure and the public sector
Introduction Australia’s peak regulators, including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the Accounting Standards Review Board and the Reserve Bank of Australia, are exerting increasing pressure on private companies to report on climate change risk in accordance with guidelines issued by the Financial […]
ReadmoreResponsible lending – updated guidance and practical considerations
Lenders’ responsible lending obligations have been a fluid topic in the wake of the Hayne Royal Commission’s final report in February 2019. In that report, Commissioner Hayne said that he was ultimately not persuaded that the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (NCCP) needed to change in that aspect. His view was that the […]
Readmore
