FSRB introduction date in doubt
The introduction date of the Financial Services Reform Bill (FSRB) could be rescheduled despite successfully passing through the Senate yesterday after some last minute parliamentary discord.
Last night political parties, Labor and the Democrats, threatened to stall the Bill’s passage when they both refused to support a plan by the government to allow phone calls by retail investors to be taped during takeovers.
A spokesman for the Minister for Financial Services Joe Hockey says after much discussion the Democrats accepted the amendment concerning the phone calls in exchange for an ethical investment disclosure. He says the Bill will now go back before the House of Representatives for approval on the amendments on Monday.
The spokesman says as a result, the Bill’s introduction date, October 1 might be changed and that next week the Minister would hold a roundtable meeting with the Implementation Consultative Committee (ICC) to discuss a possible start date.
The ICC has been set up to develop the regulations of the FSRB and is comprised of practitioners from a number of financial services groups.
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