The Financial Services Council (FSC) has come out in support of the Government’s announcement last Friday that it will toughen up corporate misconduct penalties following shocking revelations before the Royal Commission as to the extent of misconduct in the financial advice industry.
The strengthened civil and criminal penalties would allow, amongst other things, individual wrongdoers to be imprisoned for 10 years and corporations fined 10 per cent of annual turnover.
FSC chief executive, Sally Loane, said that it was “entirely appropriate” that the penalties for corporate misconduct be as strong as possible to protect consumers.
“There is no place for criminality in the financial services industry and wrongdoing should be met with the full force of the law.
“Consumers must have confidence that the individuals and organisations they entrust with their savings will act in the right way. Both effective enforcement of the law as well as severe punishments for wrongdoing are central to promoting better trust and confidence.”
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