Treasury head outlines cross-border issues
One of Australia’s most senior bureaucrats, secretary of the Treasury Ken Henry, has supported improving Australia’s cross-border regulatory framework to encourage financial services exports.
In a speech to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Summer School in Melbourne today, Henry said that with the Australian financial services industry being so dynamic, it was imperative that Australia’s regulatory framework remained competitive, flexible and responsive to global commercial and regulatory developments.
“As we improve Australia’s cross-border regulatory framework, there will remain a place for unilateral recognition. No doubt, there is scope for some fine-tuning of the existing scheme,” he said.
“However, for selected countries, mutual recognition will offer greater benefits,” Henry said. “Mutual recognition goes further than unilateral recognition in strengthening the ties between regulators.”
He said it might be useful for Australia to begin thinking about a set of principles that might guide the approach to mutual recognition.
“If nothing else, such a set of principles would assist foreign regulators and markets in determining the regulatory approach that suits them best when they consider closer regulatory and commercial integration with the Australian finance industry,” Henry said.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
The top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from losses in the first half of the year, and the gap is narrowing between their respective adviser numbers.
With many advisers preparing to retire or sell up, business advisory firm Business Health believes advisers need to take a proactive approach to informing their clients of succession plans.
Retirement commentators have flagged that almost a third of Australians over 50 are unprepared for the longevity of retirement and are falling behind APAC peers in their preparations and advice engagement.
As private markets continue to garner investor interest, Netwealth’s series of private market reports have revealed how much advisers and wealth managers are allocating, as well as a growing attraction to evergreen funds.
