ASIC enforcement report skirts headlines

While the handling of the Commonwealth Financial Planning enforceable undertaking may have been front and centre in the headlines for the first six months of this year, it has failed to rate a significant mention in Australian Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC's) enforcement outcome report for the same period.

The report, released this week, noted the findings of the Senate Economics References Committee into ASIC's performance but went no further than saying that the regulator would be responding to and implementing many of its recommendations.

Beyond that, the report noted that BNP Paribas had been the subject of an enforceable undertaking and that the former sole director of Sonray Capital Markets, Russell Johnson, had been jailed for six and a half years for his role in the collapse of Sonray.

Also noted in the ASIC report was the fact that while the regulator had negotiated an outcome with Industry Super Australia (ISA) over its compare the pair advertising campaign, other financial services companies found to have made misleading statements were subject to financial penalties with Australian Mutual Holdings Limited and Wealth Within paying $20,400 for breaches.

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Commenting on the release of the report, ASIC Commissioner, Greg Tanzer said the regulator's future and current areas of focus included the treatment of confidential information by listed companies, manipulation of financial benchmarks and improving auditor and liquidator standards, as well as the ongoing focus on advertising of financial products and the quality of financial advice.